The Joys of Friendship
by Megatron's Blackfire
Summary: Thundercracker and Skywarp are the best of friends. Thundercracaker thinks he knows everything about Skywarp. He has no clue how wrong he is and how much one little truth will rip both their worlds apart. G1-verse.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Wings trembling as she worked, Skywarp went over her checklist for the fourth time in ten minutes. She had all the paint that she could carry with her, quick energon rations if she was in a tight spot and could not get out fast enough, the voice modifier, the holoemitter, and the encrypted datapads. It looked like everything that she needed and if there was anything else that the Autobots could not provide in fear of her being discovered then the Decepticons were sure to have it.

She was as ready as she was ever going to be.

Footsteps behind her made her lift her head. The sight of the red and white mech behind her brought a small frown to her dermas, but she folded her arms over her chest and tried to look as nonchalant as she could.

"Ratchet, what are you doing here?" she asked as politely as she could.

The field medic's blue optics stayed on her for a moment before he sighed heavily. "Skywarp, you know this is not necessary," he murmured softly. "There are plenty of others that could do this."

"I signed up for it, Ratchet," Skywarp flared her wings in annoyance. "You know that and we've been over this before."

Ratchet continued looking at her, acting like he was about to block the only exit to the room if she tried to move. It was annoying. She was a full-grown Cybertronian! Or at least she would have been if they had not stopped providing the necessary upgrades to become fully-fledged adults. And Ratchet could have done that if he was not so set in his ways.

"That doesn't mean that you have to," Ratchet repeated for the tenth time that orn, reaching for her. "Someone with more experience can do this."

"And how am I supposed to get experience if I don't do this?" Skywarp snapped, finally reaching the breaking point. "Ratchet, I swear to Primus, I know what I'm doing! I've been trained for slag like this. You might be in danger, but I am not. Now please get out of my way; I have a shuttle to catch."

Ratchet reached for her arm, but drew away with a solemn nod. "Very well," he murmured. "Be safe, Skywarp."

"You say that like it's a hard thing," Skywarp smirked before she walked past him. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to be flying on the front lines. I'm going for a more secure spot where I can siphon info out of the higher ups."

With one final nod and smile, Skywarp left. Ratchet sighed and massaged his forehead, wishing he could have changed her mind. Regardless of what she said, he did not think that she was going to be safe. If only there was some way to keep her out of harm's way….

* * *

**Author's Note: **I know I said I was going to finish off the other stories, but dang it if I'm not bored out of my mind with staring at the screen and not having the will to write. So, I'm going to work on a new one and see what happens.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Skywarp whined as someone started shaking her shoulder. She struck out at the disturber, rolling over and trying to curl up more. There was a loud sigh above her before the hands roughly grabbed her and hauled her out of the berth.

"Sky, let's go," Thundercracker's voice cut through whatever was left of her recharge. "Megatron wants everyone in the assembly room for the battle plans."

"Don't wanna," Skywarp whined, huffing unhappily as she struggled to get free from Thundercracker's grip. "Must recharge more!"

"And this is why I should not let you play those Earth video games until the middle of the night," Thundercracker huffed. "Megatron's calling an assembly in the war room and if we aren't there when he starts we are going to be offlined on the spot for walking in late."

That was enough to make her stop fighting, but it did little to wake her up fully. Megatron's temper was legendary in its fury and intensity. Regardless of how tired she was, Skywarp was not foolish enough to bring that fury down on herself or Thundercracker without a justifiable reason to placate the warlord's wrath. Very few things did.

Sighing, she pushed against Thundercracker's shoulder and moved them both towards the door. He let out a soft snort at her, but the hand he rested on her shoulder was just as affectionate as any trine member. They hurried down the corridor of The Nemesis, ignoring the soft, constantly moving shadows on the walls created by sunlight piercing the waters that surrounded the ship. Later, if Skywarp felt like it, she might go to a secluded room to meditate and watch the ripples.

Soundwave was waiting patiently by the door to the war room when they arrived. He was silent as he watched them, but his presence was reassuring; the meeting had not started yet. If it had been, Soundwave would have been sitting at Megatron's elbow like the loyal lapdog that he was. A small tingle of pain ran the length of Skywarp's spinal unit and she wisely bowed her head to Soundwave in apology for that thought.

The massive mech did not move, but they stepped into the room at the mental prompt to get inside. The elongated table in the center of the room was almost entirely filled with the "important" soldiers onboard Megatron's warship. Megatron, the silver tyrant with his infamous red optics and black hands; Skywarp was not entirely sure why everyone remembered the black hands rather than his sheer size; was seated at the head of the table, looking up briefly to see who had entered. On his right sat Starscream, who was rigid with his wings stiff and unhappy behind him. His vibrant colours were painful to look upon when he was juxtaposed to Megatron, but it also gave him a strangely childish look, not that anyone was dumb enough to mention that to his face. Beside Starscream was the leader of the Constructions, Scrapper, with his twin brother Hook seated beside him. Scrapper might be leader of the gestalt, but it was an undisputed fact amongst the soldiers that it was Hook that held most of the power in their little group. On Megatron's left side was an empty seat; Soundwave's place; and the next seat was occupied by the Combaticon leader, Onslaught. The sheer size of the mech was enough to cause apprehension with a skittish soldier, but Skywarp had long since grown use to him since Starscream returned with him from Cybertron and made a point to wave at him as she moved to stand behind her trine leader. The last seat around the table was occupied by the leader of the Stunticons, Motormaster, with a slumbering blue and white form against his chest.

"We let people take naps in the meeting room now?" Skywarp asked as she leant on Starscream's chair. "Why wasn't I told about this?"

"Skywarp, shut up," Starscream growled, his high-pitched voice grating at Skywarp's audios in annoyance.

Pouting a little, Skywarp fell silent as Soundwave took his seat beside Megatron. Her wings trembled behind her as she turned her attention to the hologram that Megatron had brought up. It was a floor plan for a nuclear facility, one that she had scouted out a few orns ago on Starscream's orders. Immediately, she shivered and waited for Megatron to attack.

"This facility," the warlord growled in his gravelly voice, "creates enough energy in the course of a day to provide power to almost three counties for half an orbital cycle on this planet. For humans, that is more than enough for them to be content with. For us, that is enough energon potential to keep Kaon lit for a few more orns."

"So we're going to raid it," Hook huffed bluntly.

"Precisely," Megatron's optics flickered momentarily to Hook and there was a small twitch of amusement on his dermas.

Skywarp barely kept her wings still in silent anger. If that had been Starscream who interrupted him, the trine leader would have received a backhand and a snarl to not speak unless spoken to.

Megatron began to explain his plan, showing weak points in the outer walls of the facility and where they could siphon energy without being too exposed. Starscream was glaring at the hologram as it zoomed into the various floors and Megatron's voice continued on around them. Finally, shaking his head, he turned towards the warlord and cleared his throat.

"Megatron, that won't work," he stated calmly.

"Starscream, did I ask for your opinion?" Megatron snarled as he rounded on his Second in Command. "You do not seem to remember that you are not in command!"

"Let me speak," Starscream started to say before Megatron actually reached out to grab him by the throat. "Skywarp!"

Without hesitating, Skywarp darted around Megatron's chair and slipped between his arm and Soundwave's chair. The Third in Command's hand settled on Skywarp's neck, but she managed to plug her wrist port into the small control panel that connected to the hologram before she was hauled backwards.

Immediately, a swarm of blinking red orbs appeared in the area that Megatron had been planning on sending the Stunticons into. The five purple orbs that had been the Stunticons flickered before vanishing under the onslaught of red orbs. Megatron was silent as Motormaster actually trembled in his seat.

"What was that?" Megatron finally asked as he signalled for Soundwave to release Skywarp and let her scuttle over to Starscream's side with a lopsided grin on her face.

"The result of the Autobots giving the humans technology to protect themselves from us," Starscream replied simply as he gave Megatron a cold glare. "All detailed in the report I kept trying to give you that you oh so politely told me to forget about." Tilting his head towards the ceiling, Starscream let a mocking frown cross his dermas. "How did you put it again? Oh yes; 'get out of my sight you worthless mech. Nothing you have could be of any importance.' Ring a bell?"

Megatron's glare was fearsome, but Starscream simply smirked. He had actually won this round.

"Very well," Megatron growled. "The raid will be put off until all the new information is sorted out. You are dismissed."

Skywarp and Thundercracker stepped back so that Starscream could rise without clipping either of them in the jaw with his wings. They left the room together before something in Skywarp's subspace started to ping as they walked down the hallway.

"Ooh," she squealed happily before she darted down the hallway. "I'll catch up with you later!"

She was gone down the hallway before Thundercracker or Starscream could call her back. They both knew what the beeping thing in her subspace meant, at least, what she told them it meant. A friend that she played video games with online had finally come on after a few days of "vacation". Sliding into her room and turning her computer on, Skywarp pulled a small contraption out of her subspace and plugged it into the a port.

Logging onto the online website, Skywarp immediately connected with her friend. After a quick greeting, they set off on the quest they had cut short a few days ago. She waited a half hour, letting anyone that could possibly be watching her think that it really was just a game between herself and some human she had befriended from a distance. Then, she uploaded the data from the meeting to her Autobot comrade and hoped that they could get it to Optimus as quickly as he could. There was a brief flash of light on the screen as her friend cast a spell in the game, the one that they used to confirm that he had received the information.

They played for another hour before the Autobot used lunch as an excuse and logged off. Leaning back in her chair, Skywarp let out a long sigh as she stretched her arms towards the ceiling. Optimus Prime would use that information accordingly and would likely increase the patrol unit to right what Megatron was going to do. She and Thundercracker would be sent out again, they would report, and everything would likely even itself out.

There was nothing she could do about that.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Once she was sure that the information had been passed along safely, Skywarp headed for the rec room to grab some breakfast. The room was full of relaxing soldiers, most of them ignoring her even when she flopped onto Thundercracker's helm and whined that her friend never stayed online for very long. Rolling over on the couch, she grinned dumbly at him as he coolly sipped his energon.

"Must you always make that complaint?" he asked calmly as she tried to steal his energon cube from him and he held it out of her grasp. "You know that humans have shorter attention spans than you."

"But he's my friend," she whined loudly as she kicked her feet miserably. "Don't get why he can't stay on longer."

Thundercracker, a testament to his patience, did not shove her off the couch. Instead, he just shook his head and returned to his energon cube. Not one to ever let a subject die; at least, not in her role as Skywarp the Annoying Decepticon; Skywarp rolled over and started patting at Thundercracker's chest, whining a little bit more without actually saying anything. His dark red optics shifted down to focus on her for a moment, the apathy present with as much intensity as ever, but there was a flicker of fond amusement in their depths.

"Go get yourself fuelled, Skywarp," Thundercracker stated calmly before giving her a gentle shove towards the edge of the couch. "Starscream wants us up in the air as soon as possible. We've got patrols to do."

Obeying, Skywarp got up and retrieved a cube of energon. Optics burned into the center of her back, making her wings flutter a little in uneasy. There was something about the feel of the optics following her that made her feel…something negative that she had no word for. Her optics roved over the mechs filling the room, taking note of the few that were bothering to give her a second glance.

Astrotrain, Dead End, Thrust; the usual group that just liked to know where everyone was at a given time. A little paranoid, perhaps, but it paid to be in this sort of environment. Sipping on her energon slowly, still scanning because that feeling was not going away, she headed back towards Thundercracker. Then, there was a painful ping on the inside of her processor and she immediately whipped around to find Soundwave looming over her.

How was it possible for a mech that big to move so fragging silently?

Controlling herself so that she did not squeal in fright; the vocalizer could not handle deepening a femme's scream beyond a certain point and she had an insanely high-pitched scream; Skywarp hopped back a few feet. Chest heaving in fright, she stared at Soundwave for a moment before she bristled indignantly.

"There are better ways of getting my attention than scaring the ever-looking slag out of me!" she snapped as her wings bobbed furiously behind her.

Soundwave was silent for a few moments, his gaze possibly sweeping the room behind that red visor of his. While it agitated her, Skywarp tried to keep her thoughts focused on Soundwave sudden appearance and not to let her mind wander onto other things that concerned her. Soundwave was in front of her, he had snuck up on her, and it made her very, very angry.

"Status?" he asked with barely any infliction in his tone signalling what he wanted a status update on.

"Well, I'm refuelling before I head out on patrol," Skywarp snorted as she downed the rest of her cube and tried very hard not to think about how wonderful it would be to bounce the cube off of Soundwave's head and get it in the disposal shoot. It would be glorious….

"Focus," Soundwave growled before he stepped closer. "Assault on a superior officer will result in brig time."

"I didn't touch you," Skywarp grumbled before resting the cube on her hip and waving a hand over her head. "Are we done here? I'd rather not listen to Starscream complain about not getting out on patrol as soon as possible."

Soundwave glared at her for another minute before he nodded and brushed past her. Tossing the cube into the disposal shoot and making a soft "swish" sound effect, Skywarp skipped out of the rec room. She waited until she was around the corner from the room before she released a large burst of air from her vents.

She hated dealing with Soundwave, especially when there was an audience nearby. If it was just she and him, she could easily dance around him and pretend that she did not have a clue what he was talking about. But the others were not so easy to brush off. She had to give innocent, logical answers in order to stop them from getting curious as to why Soundwave was looming over her.

If she didn't know any better; which she did because she was still online and functioning; she might have thought that Soundwave knew about her real allegiance. At least if Soundwave had not pegged her as a spy yet it meant that no one else did either.

With a quick shake of her wings to get the last of her disgust at having Soundwave staring at her, she skipped off to start her patrol of the coast.

xXxXxXx

Knocking on Starscream's door was a little nerve-racking, if only because it was late and her trine-leader could technically be deep in recharge. Skywarp, however, wanted to talk to the foul-tempered Seeker before anything else happened that orn to really, really make her want to see the older soldier.

An annoyed "enter" reached her before she carefully pushed the door open. The interior was dark, the only light source a computer screen in the corner that was partially blocked by Starscream's chassis. Blinking a few times, Skywarp slipped inside and closed the door behind her, smiling a little nervously as she reached over to turn the sound-proofing system on.

"Rough orn?" Skywarp asked as she moved closer to her silent trine-leader.

"Incredibly," Starscream replied as he dropped the forced screechy voice and spoke in the proper sophisticated manner that would befit any femme in the scientist line of work. "Judging by the fact that you are in here rather than crashed in your berth would indicate that you are just as ruffled as I am. Care to talk, little sister?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Skywarp sighed as she flopped herself onto her older sisters knees and let out a long whine. "Soundwave is everywhere, I swear!"

"You're just figuring that out?" Starscream teased as her fingers travelled lovingly over Skywarp's helm. "He's been doing that for as long as this war has been going."

"But I mean that every time I turn around he's right slagging there!" Skywarp huffed as she pouted. "Trying to refuel and he's looming over me. Stop in the hallway to scratch my wingtip and he's hovering near my shoulder; frag, I came in to land after my patrol and I almost ran him over! He's stalking me!"

Starscream was silent as Skywarp settled in to sulk on her lap. Blue fingers traced over black shoulder vents in thought and Skywarp immediately looked up to see what her multi-coloured sister was doing. Her dermas were pursed in an unusually thin line and her royal red optics were a few shades dimmer than they should have been; something was worrying her.

"Star?" she asked softly, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"He might be putting everything together," Starscream said at last, her voice barely more than a whisper. "You have to finish up whatever it is that you were sent here to do and get back to the others."

Skywarp might have felt worried and scared if Starscream did not keep playing this exact some card every time they spoke. Now it was just getting annoying.

"We've been over this," Skywarp hissed. "I'm not leaving until you do. Period."

"Then you'll be happy to know that I'm planning on packing up soon," Starscream replied with a small shrug of her shoulder.

Skywarp almost toppled backwards in shock. "What?!"

"It's getting too dangerous," Starscream growled, her optics flashing in warning; the sound-proofing might be on but that did not mean to forget about caution. "Megatron is starting to grow even more suspicious of me."

"He probably thinks that you're cooking up some new way to usurp him," Skywarp reasoned before grinning. "Pushing him off that hill was a lovely idea, by the way; too bad his anti-grav boots kicked in so quickly."

"Don't remind me," Starscream sighed unhappily. "You'd think he'd be easier to kill but I swear that slagger knows every time I actually try to assassinate him."

"Think Soundwave…?"

"Not unless he can tell from a few miles away," Starscream scoffed before resting her head on her shoulder. "But it's time to admit that I can't do this anymore. I'm getting too close to the other soldiers and should have jumped ship when I was given this position."

Skywarp almost opened her mouth to mention that Starscream was not close to ANY of the soldiers, but then she understood and bit her derma. Hard. Starscream was one of the best infiltrators around; she fragging taught Jazz everything he knew; and hardly ever slipped up. Now, without really saying it, she was admitting that she was slipping and falling victim to the only thing that they were not at all supposed to do.

"You going to be okay?" Skywarp asked.

"I will be once this raid is over with and I can stage my escape," Starscream replied with a small sigh. "I'll let you know when I come up with something, alright?"

"Aw, you mean no smoke grenades and laserfights with the Combaticons?" Skywarp teased as she shifted to rest her head back on Starscream's knee.

"You pull a stunt like that and I will personally rig your thrusters to explode," Starscream growled before turning back to her screen and continuing writing up some report.

Purring in amusement because Starscream would never sabotage her thrusters, Skywarp cuddled closer and just rested against Starscream's legs. If she could get away with it, she was going to crash in her sister's quarters and avoid another run in with Soundwave. Three times was enough of the huge telepath's presence for one orn.

xXxXxXx

Soundwave watched the screen carefully as Skywarp cuddled against Starscream's legs and received an affectionate pat on the head in return. His visor darkened as dark thoughts and feelings wormed their way through his core. Both Seekers were trouble on their own, but put them in a room together?

If only he could figure out a way to get a camera into Starscream's quarters that allowed him to record sound as well as footage. The blasted Seeker seemed to know wherever an audio recorder was and threw a righteous fit in front of Megatron whenever he confronted Soundwave about it. It was frustrating and even Megatron could not force his soldiers to comply to the surveillance in their private quarters.

He watched Skywarp's wings flutter for a moment, shifting in the inky darkness in a way that made it look like the shadows themselves were alive. His mouth tightened into a small grimace behind his facemask as he watched the affectionate exchange of wing movements between the Seekers. Their secret language that went along better than anything spoken and blast it all if he was too far away to figure out from their thoughts what was being said. But he did know one thing about those wings that sent a pleasant sensation through his spark.

Soundwave was going to make him suffer for excluding him; that was for certain.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Balancing on the tips of her feet, Skywarp reached up to push the bucket into place above the door. She didn't care who walked in after she had made a hasty retreat, but she knew that they were going to look lovely in such a brilliant shade of orange.

"You know that everyone is aware that you are the only one who does juvenile pranks like this," Thundercracker commented from where he was leaning against the wall watching. "Megatron and Soundwave will be after you in less than a breem."

"Let them," Skywarp replied as she backed away slowly, holding her hands up to tell the bucket not to fall yet. "It boosts morale and I've never been in the brig for longer than a joor. We all know that Megatron doesn't like to punish me for making everyone laugh."

Thundercracker let out a soft sigh before he stood up straight and started off down the hallway. "Get moving then."

Snickering, Skywarp followed him, skipping along until they turned the corner. Right on cue, a loud crash echoed after them and was quickly followed by a furious bellow. Skywarp let out a loud cackle of glee before she rushed down the hallway before the victim could figure out where she was.

"I got Onslaught!" she howled in delight. "Oh, I can't wait to see the video replay!"

Thundercracker hurried behind her, grabbing her wing and dragging her into a room. He covered her mouth to keep her silent, making her listen as thunderous footsteps charged past their hiding place. Onslaught sounded furious at the prospect of being orange. Grinning devilishly, Skywarp wiggled out of Thundercracker's grip and rubbed her hands in glee.

"This is perfect," she snickered. "Swindle will make a bit of credits from his darling older brother, don't you think?"

"Why would you care about Swindle?" Thundercracker huffed as he shook his head. "Unless you bought the paint off of Swindle and…you two are horrible, did you know that?"

"We're Decepticons," Skywarp replied in mock offense. "That is what we do!"

"Turn on your fellow Con for your amusement?"

"No, ensure that the other profits from our machinations," Skywarp preened.

Thundercracker gave her an odd look, blinking a few times before he reached out and poked her head at an alarmingly fast pace. "Did you get a momentary processor alignment?" he demanded. "You just used a word that should not be in your vocabulary, Skywarp. You are not a smart mech, Sky."

Backpedaling quickly, Skywarp huffed. "I heard Starscream say it; it sounded smartical," she whined before crossing her arms over her chest. "Stop stealing my thunder."

Relaxing a little, Thundercracker shook his head. "Come on, we should head out for patrols before Megatron finds us."

Barely holding in her sigh of relief, Skywarp followed Thundercracker. She had not even thought that using the word "machinations" would not be something "Skywarp the Decepticon Seeker" would say. Frag, no one else seemed to notice when she had little slip-ups like that, but Thundercracker always seemed ready to turn and poke at her for speaking so strangely. But, what else were friends supposed to do?

Megatron was waiting for them when they returned from patrol. His optics were darker than normal, but his stance was relaxed and Skywarp thought one hip was higher than the other as he stood on the landing pad. They were in trouble, but she was not about to get her wings ripped off.

"Skywarp," he growled as she landed in front of him and knelt at his feet, "I received several reports about you painting Onslaught a rather vulgar shade of orange. Care to explain?"

"It was a prank, sir," Skywarp replied as sweetly as she could, making sure to not giggle at the idea of Onslaught stomping around in bright orange paint. "Not anything more."

"I see," Megatron said around a rather deep revving of his engine. "Regardless of how amusing such a thing is, I expect you to report to the brig for your joor of punishment. That goes for you too, Thundercracker."

Thundercracker jumped in shock beside her, his wings flaring indignantly. "But, sir!"

"Enough," Megatron growled, his gaze alone making Thundercracker flatten himself to the ground to stop any wrath from falling on his head. "You know your friend well enough, Thundercracker, and should have been able to restrain him."

"I understand, sir," Thundercracker grumbled.

As they stood up and moved past Megatron, Thundercracker gave her a glare and a rough push down the hallway. "Thanks a lot, Sky," he grumbled.

"Sorry," Skywarp laughed as she headed for the brig. "But at least we can be together."

"I should tie your wings together and roll you down the hallway," Thundercracker grumbled.

"But you wouldn't because you know I'd get even in the most evil way possible," Skywarp grinned as she moved down into the brig. "Who's in charge of brigtime today?"

Soundwave looked over at her and it took every nerve cluster in her chassis not to run screaming through the base. Instead, she hid behind Thundercracker and pushed him forward.

"Oh dear sweet, ever-loving Primus!" she wailed in mock terror. "Take him first! He's more fun to poke!"

Soundwave just kept his face towards her. It was hard to tell if he was confused or annoyed, but Thundercracker easily tossed her over his shoulder and walked towards one of the cells.

"Open that one up, would you, Soundwave?" he asked before dropping Skywarp unceremoniously on her aft. "He needs a time out."

Staring at Thundercracker in horror, Skywarp started quivering her lip. "T-thundercracker," she whined.

"Don't even start with me," he huffed before he stepped into his own cell and laid down on the berth. "Just sit it out like a good mech and try not to annoy Soundwave into electrocuting you."

Skywarp vented a huge sigh as if it was a huge effort on her part and slunk all the way over to the berth. Rolling over so that her back was towards the glowing bars of the cell, she let a huge smirk cross her face. Thundercracker was sooooooo getting it later.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_"I know the truth."_

_Skywarp ran as fast as she could, panting as she felt the sharp pang of pain that always followed Soundwave's telepathy._

_"Spy," his voice snarled in her audio, causing her to stumble and smash her thrusters to bits. "Liar. Fake. Autobot bitch."_

_Shaking her head, she forced herself to go faster, to put real distance between herself and the hovering monstrosity behind her. Tears streamed down her face as images flew by of shattered corpses that made it hard to tell who were Autobots and who were Decepticons. Her intakes heaved with the strain to stay ahead of the mech behind her, straining to keep distance between herself and the mental range of her assailant._

_"Spy," Soundwave's voice snarled before he was suddenly in front of her._

_His optics flared behind his visor as his arms wrapped around her and easily turned her momentum against her. She was pinned beneath his bulk, struggling as her holo-emitter fitzed out and left her in plain sight of Soundwave's optics. Her chest heaved as he leant in closer, facemask and visor sliding away to show a blank slate of a face._

_"Mine," he voice boomed from that empty feature before he rushed forward._

Skywarp bolted upright, flailing her arms desperately at the blank face above her. Her mouth was open, but her vocalizer had shorted out at the high intensity, thankfully preventing her from screaming at a high enough octave to break the voice scrambler. Her optics darted around the holding cell rapidly, taking in the dark walls and the glowing bars before she collapsed onto the berth with a soft wheeze of relief.

She was in the brig. She was not being attacked by Soundwave. He did not know her secret. She was going to live for another orn.

"What time is it?" she called out.

"About time you woke up," Starscream replied before he stepped into view. "You've been in recharge for quite a few joors."

"And no one bothered to wake me up?" Skywarp demanded scandalized. "How cruel!"

"A suitable punishment considering I had to deal with your latest prank trying to rip my wings off," Starscream replied with a low growl. "Now hurry up and get to the launch deck; I need you to check out some coordinates."

'And meet with Jazz; he wants to go over the newest schematics for the power plant,' Starscream added quietly over their private link that no one save for the other Spec. Ops officers knew about.

"I'll be there as soon as Soundwave turns the bars off," Skywarp replied as she bounced to her feet.

"As soon as Blitzwing turns the bars off," Blitzwing called out as the bars flashed and dissipated. "Soundwave was called up to the command center to keep an optic on something."

"Oh," Skywarp replied as she skipped over to Blitzwing and sprawled herself out as annoying as she could over the console. "So it was just you and me for a few joors? I'm surprised I didn't wake up with magic marker all over my faceplates."

"Octane took my markers away as soon as he realized I had them," Blitzwing replied before he poked her between the optics. "Otherwise, your face would be marked up with a glorious bright pink marker."

"Oh, wouldn't pink just look so fetching on me?" Skywarp asked as she bounced to her feet and cocked her hip out to the side, making herself look like one of the silly human runway models. "With a bright blue boa to match?"

"Skywarp! Launch deck, now!" Starscream screeched as he walked up behind her and started pushing her out of the brig. "Move your aft!"

Skywarp cackled with delight as she waved to Blitzwing and wished him a good brig watch. As soon as they were around the corner, Starscream smacked her painfully over the head.

"Your hips are too perfect for that pose," she growled, dropping the "mech" voice for a moment. "You actually looked like a femme for a second."

"It's Blitzwing; we always joke like that," Skywarp replied with a wide grin. "You should see him when he does something like that; those hips were made for sparking."

Starscream grimaced and covered her face, shaking it rapidly. "And Ratchet's certain we both popped out of him," she grumbled before adopting the screechy voice again. "Let's go."

Skywarp trotted after Starscream with a huge grin on her face, happy that she could still make her older sister blush with the thoughts of facing with a mech that she normally did not have any attraction for.

The launch pad was empty and Skywarp took off without a single hitch. Her "flight path" was blinking in her processor and she activated the small tracking beacon from her undercarriage and watched it fly off in that direction. With a small flick of her wings, she took off in the direction that Starscream had given her so that she could meet up with Jazz in private.

It took her a few passes over the forested area to spot her commanding officer. He was "chillin'" in the bough of a tree, tapping his foot away to some beat he had going in his headset. Landing a little clumsily on the branch beside him, Skywarp waved her hand rapidly in front of his face to get his attention. His huge grin was a welcoming sign as she dropped onto her aft to be at optic level with him.

"Hey darling; how's life in the Con base?" Jazz asked as he clapped her shoulder.

"Same old," she replied with a shrug, happily dropping her holo-emitter. "Got Onslaught with a paint bucket over the head."

Jazz laughed and punched her shoulder. "Send me a copy of that vid when you get the chance; Sides will love to see how lovely Onslaught's armor is covered in paint," he cackled.

Skywarp hitched an optic ridge at that comment. "He's not still…?" she asked before Jazz grinned devilishly.

"Oh, I'm sworn to secrecy, darling; can't tell you a thing," he replied as he crossed his fingers over his spark. "Now it's time to get serious with my favourite spy."

Looking around, Skywarp forced a big-dentaed grin to her face. "Bumblebee's here?" she demanded.

"Skywarp!" Jazz laughed before punching her shoulder. "Seriously now; second favourite."

"Mirage is here too?"

"Third."

"Hound finally cracked!"

"Skywarp! Really now!" Jazz laughed, tipping his head back so that the noise travelled through the trees. "Be serious."

"You can't be serious for two minutes; what makes you think I will?" Skywarp teased before she shifted her weight so that she was a bit more comfortable. "Shoot."

Shaking his head with a soft chuckle, Jazz brought up the battleplans. He explained the changes to them, showed her where each of the soldiers were going to be and where the resulting Decepticons SHOULD be if Starscream could fight hard enough. The Bots were willing to make small changes to allow for everything to LOOK like it was not a staged attack, but Optimus was really unwilling to let the Cons get away with any energon.

"And you are to sit here and do nothing," Jazz concluded as he poked the dark purple orb sitting up in the rafters of the power plant. "Snipe at the minis, but make it look like close shots; Ratchet is still after me for letting Ironhide get his shoulder shot the last time."

"He freaks out over everything," Skywarp growled as she memorized the battleplan and shook her head. "I once slipped and landed on my back and he kept insisting that I should let him take a look at my wings to make sure they weren't out of alignment even though Coder told him that they were fine."

Jazz watched her silently for a moment before he reached out and touched her shoulder with too much affection for her to accept as a simple move on his own part; Ratchet was near-by. "He's just worried about you," Jazz replied with a bit too much conviction.

Glaring at him, Skywarp pushed off of the tree and hovered. "Tell Ratchet to stop trying to eavesdrop on these meetings; I'm not a sparkling anymore regardless of the fact that he refuses to upgrade my chassis. See you, Jazz; I'll try not to shoot you too hard."

She heard Jazz call after her as she transformed and blasted off into the sky. She checked the progress of her tracking drone and blasted towards the base to intercept it. She caught it just before it went into visual range of the ship, throwing her holo-emitter up just in time as she raced across the ocean.

The huge tower rose out of the waves to let her land. She was barely through the door when Megatron stepped into view and she almost crashed into him. Yelping, she teleported quickly and ended up landing on Swindle, taking the surprised mech to the ground. They blinked at each other in shock before Skywarp grinned and started drawing patterns on his chest.

"Hiya, handsome," she teased.

"Skywarp, on your feet," Megatron called. "We're heading out."

Skywarp was on her feet in a sparkpulse, blinking at Megatron in unveiled surprise. "Where?"

"The powerplant," Megatron snorted as he rested a fist on his hip. "If you bothered to answer your comlink you could have met us there."

"My comlink never went off," Skywarp grumbled to herself as she shuffled over to where the Seekers were waiting.

She shot Starscream a worried look, but her older sister was watching Megatron closely. Her wings were twitching anxiously, a sure sign that she had not been expecting to head out this early either. Megatron gave his usual spiel about Decepticon superiority and how the end of the war was within their grasp. Then, they were all airborne.

Breaking away from the others, Skywarp shot off to fly far away from the others. She knew it was risky to try to send transmissions with Soundwave around; especially since the slagger was actually watching her; but she wanted to make sure the Bots knew. She managed to get one line of "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" before Jazz sent back the affirmative and turned the link off quickly.

Relieved, she continued to fly farther away from the others for a little while, making it look like she just wanted some space to spread her wings. Starscream eventually told her to get into position before he shot her aft off, but it was only half as threatening as he tried to make it.

The power plant was deserted when they arrived. Skywarp almost marvelled at the Autobots' efficiency before she had to dodge a volley of laserfire. Megatron roared in outrage and ordered everyone to attack. Taking that as her cue, Skywarp teleported up to the ceiling and hovered there taking potshots at Autobots that happened to catch her attention. Bumblebee made a bit of a show of dodging her shot and she was tempted to hit him with a blank to make him stop acting like a loon.

Just as she was lining up another shot, half of the building blew up and sent everyone flying. She teleported on instinct, getting herself away from the heat and debris as the smoke billowed out of the destroyed wall. She could see mechs moving slowly, their coughs and shouts muffled by the smoke. As it started to dissipate, her spark went cold.

Thundercracker was lying in a pool of energon, his wing missing and a huge crater where his middle should have been.

"THUNDERCRACKER!"

**Author's Notes:** I should explain this now that I've touched on it a little bit more. A while ago, I was in a chat room and AKZeal was talking about having femmes becoming mechs at maturity. Safe to say this idea has stuck with me and has shaped this story a little differently than originally planned. So, the original idea is all thanks to AKZeal; if you have not gone and read his stuff, go do it now. Seriously good stuff. Link here u/385252/Kd-Zeal


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jazz could kill her later.

Without a second thought, Skywarp teleported to Thundercracker's side and clawed furiously at a black Autobot as he staggered backwards. She fired on the back-peddling mechs, baring her dentas as she positioned herself overtop of her fallen friend. His voice sounded light-years away as he moaned weakly. She could hear his struts straining as he tried to move and she pushed him down with a foot.

"Don't move," she hissed softly as she tried to contact Hook. His comm-link was cutting in and out of static which annoyed her, but when he finally snarled in answer to her hail, she almost cried in delight. "Thundercracker is in need of emergency transport," she told him quickly as she shot Cliffjumper backwards into Brawn with a loud "HA!" of anger.

"Give me a click, Skywarp; I have to dig Scavenger out from under a wall," Hook growled before his line went dead.

Whining impatiently, Skywarp ducked a laser and fired back. She could feel Jazz's angry attempts to get her comm. frequency, but she ignored him in favour of keeping Thundercracker pinned to the ground. His ragged vents were starting to make her panic and she split her attention between the confused and worried Autobots and her bleeding friend.

"Don't you dare die on me," she hissed as she reached down to push her hand into a large wound that was gushing energon onto the ground. "Don't you dare, Thundercracker."

His optics were already dimming, but he smiled weakly. He didn't answer and she felt certain that he couldn't talk around the energon anyways. The battle was still raging, Starscream's voice screeching in fury over something and wonderfully drew the Autobots away from her just as the Constructicons pulled up.

They transformed quickly, Mixmaster and a rather battered Scavenger beginning to move the rubble off of Thundercracker. Hook and Bonecrusher hoisted the heavily damaged Seeker onto Long Haul's flatbed, each whispering vitals to one another as if Skywarp wasn't there to hear. Her head was spinning with the information even though she struggled to make it seem like she didn't understand a word of it. She had spent too much time with Ratchet, too much time in the medical bay, to feign ignorance to the amount of medical jargon tumbling out of their mouths; Thundercracker was in bad shape.

"Can you clear us a path, Skywarp?" Scrapper asked as he helped Long Haul pull away from the fallen wall.

Skywarp nodded, knowing immediately that he was speaking of the Autobots rather than the debris. Without waiting, she took to the air and started blasting at the Autobots, clearing a large path for the Constructicons to the edge of the battlefield. Slag, she was more than willing to airlift him back to base herself if they got him stabilized!

As she circled lower, her spark stalled. The brothers were swarming over Thundercracker, shouting at each other before Mixmaster produced a pair of pads from his subspace and placed them over Thundercracker's chest. Her engines spluttered and died, sending her plummeting towards the ground as the Constructicons tried to reignite the dead Seeker's spark.

She pulled up at the last second, holding in her wail of misery. Starscream flanked her, keeping close in case she decided to plummet again. They gave the medics a wide berth to avoid drawing attention to them. They were moving again in no time, hailing Astrotrain for transportation while flagging her down.

"You have to keep your hands here," Mixmaster instructed as she landed beside the brothers and immediately was dragged to Thundercracker's prone form to keep two mangled halves of his leg together. "Don't let off pressure for a moment, got it?"

Skywarp nodded, not trusting herself to talk. The brothers milled around Thundercracker as Astrotrain made a beeline for the base. Her thoughts were filled with panic as she watched the line hooked up to Thundercracker's spark flutter erratically across the screen.

Thundercracker flatlined once more during the journey and Skywarp was almost in tears by the time they got to base. She was relieved of her duty as the Constructicons rushed Thundercracker into surgery and left her trembling in the waiting room.

"Skywarp?"

She jumped a little at her sister's voice, barely containing her need to fling herself into the brilliantly coloured arms and sobbing hopelessly. Instead, she followed Starscream back to her quarters and accepted the small cube of energon as the older Seeker started to write reports. No one disturbed them; no one even seemed to care.

"Star?" Skywarp called softly from where she had curled up on her sister's berth.

"Yes, foolish one?" Starscream asked without looking away from her computer.

"I…I'm scared."

"Thundercracker will survive," Starscream soothed.

"His spark extinguished twice."

"And the Constructicons revived him; Megatron's has sputtered out five times and he's still dragging his carcass around," Starscream replied as she rose from her chair. "Hook wants to speak with you anyways. Come, little fool."

Skywarp knew why she was being called a fool; anyone with optics would have said the same thing. It took a great deal of effort to drag herself to her feet and follow Starscream. Her wings were folded miserably against her back, not even bothering to put on a brave face as they approached the medbay. Thundercracker could be dead; what was there to be happy about.

"Took you long enough," Hook growled as they approached. "Come on, Seeker; stop dragging your feet!"

Skywarp did not have the strength to bare her fangs. She followed Hook sullenly, missing the depressed look on her sister's face. Hook led her through the waiting room and through a hallway to his office, by-passing the medbay entirely. That made her spark wail in misery as she dropped herself into the chair he indicated.

Hook sat down slowly, moving datapads out from in front of him with practiced ease. "Thundercracker is stable," he stated calmly. "So you can vent again, Skywarp." His optics followed every little movement as she barely contained her delighted squeal. "And now I need to talk to you about personal things. Would you like your final upgrade?"

Skywarp stopped mid-squeal and gave Hook a blank look. "Would I like what?"

"Do you really think you fooled me or my brothers?" Hook shook his head. "Really, Skywarp, we've been repairing you every time you so much as ran into a wall and dinged your armor. You think we would not have noticed you were still a femme under that hologram?"

"Was hoping…," Skywarp swallowed nervously. There was no point in arguing with Hook; he had that terrifying "I know what I am talking about" look on his face, the same one that Ratchet had, and she did not dare try to tell him otherwise.

"So I will ask you again; do you want your final upgrade?" Hook snorted.

It was tempting to say yes. Wouldn't that just show Ratchet up? To return to base as a mech and strut around in front of him to show that the Decepticons were more than willing to give her the upgrades? But that was the catch, wasn't it? It was the Decepticons doing it; what if they implanted something into her that made her loyal? What if they tampered with things that they should not and left her crippled or worse? No, it was not worth the risk, especially not the risk of looking different than she did at the moment and having a very angry Megatron boring down on her for not being a mech all along.

"No," she grit out as she stood up. "If that is all, I'm going to go check on Thundercracker."

"Skywarp, go home," Hook sighed.

She didn't respond, heading for the door to the office. He was bluffing. There was no way that he….

"Don't you think that sticking around because you fell in love with a Con is a bad reflection of your capabilities?" Hook called gently. "Skywarp, how much longer do you think you can go before someone else figures out that you are a spy?"

Skywarp paused at the door, not because she believed a word of what Hook had just said but because she was exhausted.

"Skywarp," Hook sighed heavily before she heard him rise from his chair. "Go…."

"What the slag do you know about me?" Skywarp laughed. "Me? A spy? You're really stretching there, Hook. Does Megatron give you a higher wage if you parade mechs to him and claim that they are spies?" She went to push the door aside, but Hook's heavy hand landed on her shoulder.

"The other Bots can keep you safe, Skywarp," he growled softly into her audio. "What do you think will happen if you do become trined with Thundercracker? You can't keep secrets from him and you'll drag him into madness because he can't betray you. Is that what you want?"

Skywarp's mouth ran dry and she twitched her head left and right in response. The large hand travelled over her spinal unit like a parent's would and Hook nuzzled her head.

"Go home, kid," he murmured. "Save yourself the grief."

Skywarp nodded numbly before she went to see Thundercracker.

When Skywarp left the medbay, Thundercracker was back in stasis and resting. Her dermas tingled pleasantly from the weak kiss her trinemate had given her, but it only worked to drive home Hook's orders. She had to leave before things spiralled out of control.

She had just hit the stretch of hallway that was dark because of bad circuitry when a hand grabbed her shoulder and pinned her against the wall. She recognized the burley frame and stiffened as the familiar red visor burned into her optics. Soundwave's hands settled easily onto either side of her head and his bulk was close enough to ensure that she could not teleport without drawing him along with her.

Trying to stave off the fear, she grinned weakly. "H-heya, Soundwave; what brings you here?" she asked as evenly as she could.

"Fact; you were not on the flight path that Starscream assigned," he growled, his voice dipping beyond the normal monotone to a frighteningly low tune that made her gut clench in confusion. "Where were you?"

"I don't know what you're…," Skywarp tried to say before Soundwave punched the wall beside her head.

"Where were you, soldier," Soundwave demanded with a frighteningly savage roar that made her wings slam themselves against the wall in a desperate bid for freedom.

"I was on patrol!" Skywarp wailed, fighting the instinct to dig her claws into Soundwave's face and drive him away from her. "Honest, Soundwa-!"

Her voiced was muffled as hot dermas captured hers. She could only stare as Soundwave's face came far too close to hers and his visor glared down at her. Sharp dentas rolled over her dermas, plucking at them hard enough to make her whimper in pain. He growled, low and dangerous as he repeated himself.

"Where were you, Skywarp?"

She couldn't see his optics, but what she could see of his face made her head spin in aroused delight. It was perfectly crafted; strong jawed, straight nosed, and deliciously chewable dermas. Her hands moved on their own accord to his abdomen, playing with the warm metal as his dermas pulled back just enough to show the sharp dentas.

"I was on patrol," she whispered as her spark pulsed eagerly. "Soundw-."

"Liar," he growled before kissing her again, letting her draw close enough to lean on him before he pulled away and let her stumble.

She blinked after him as his facemask slid back into place. He turned without a word and vanished down the dark hallway. She rested a hand on her abused dermas, whimpering softly before she raced to Starscream's room. She had to leave soon!


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Skywarp watched nervously as Starscream and Megatron snarled at one another over something. It was a common sight, sure, but there was something about the way Starscream was holding his wings that made her fueltank uneasy. He was too tense, too wound-up, too…something. Sure, his disguise was an uppity brat, but this was too close to her older sister to be safe.

"That isn't how it works," Starscream hissed, watching Megatron too keenly for anyone to bypass. It was not like him at all and Skywarp was growing more and more agitated.

Megatron let out a warning growl that made the other occupants of the room draw away, Thundercracker, though weakened, grabbed Skywarp's elbow to draw her away. Her wings were starting to bob in agitation and she wanted to race to Starscream's side to defend him. What else was a sibling supposed to do?

Soundwave's visor flashed warningly across the room, meant for Skywarp and the two bristling commanders, if the sudden twitches were any indication. Megatron gave Soundwave a glare and told him to keep out. Starscream was strangely silent.

Skywarp was seriously starting to contemplate teleporting Starscream away before he said something foolish, but her multi-coloured sibling beat her to it.

"Even you are not stupid enough to send the mechs into a situation like this, Megatron," Starscream stated coldly. "There are too many variables and Shockwave isn't even sure if his little toy can work proper…!"

The crack of metal striking metal drew gasps of surprise. Starscream spun from the force of Megatron's backhanded swing and crouched against the ground. Thundercracker had loosened his grip a little bit, stunned by the energon that rolled off of Starscream's busted derma and the look of outright shock on his face.

"You would do well to remember your place, Starscream," Megatron growled. He turned towards Soundwave, who had not flinched from Megatron's attack as per usual. "Prepare the battle plans."

Skywarp's optics were trained on Starscream as he trembled for a moment. Her spark froze as she watched Starscream's optics recede to her familiar azure blue and she knew that it was over. Starscream stood up slowly and a small dagger slid down to balance delicately on her middle digit.

"You're right, Megatron," she stated in her screechy voice. "I should remember my place."

She spun at around with stunning speed and the dagger was lodged in Megatron's lower back as if it had sprouted there. He howled in shocked pain and turned to shoot her, only for Starscream to dodge his fusion cannon far more nimbly than she had ever shown herself capable of doing. The soldiers stared in disbelief as Starscream closed the distance between them in a split-second and drove a second blade into Megatron's stomach, making him spit energon in surprise. She leant in close and she nipped Megatron's dermas tauntingly.

"I am your assassin," Starscream purred in her rich, musical voice.

Soundwave lunged for her as the blade that was supposed to be driven between Megatron's optics emerged from below her wings. Skywarp darted forward, shoving a wide-mouthed Breakdown out of her way, and activated her thrusters to get between Starscream and Soundwave.

They collided and went down in a pile. Skywarp clawed at Soundwave's face, spitting angrily as Starscream struggled with the onslaught of Cassetteicons suddenly attacking her. Pain bloomed through her mind as Soundwave telepathy lashed out and she forced herself away to keep the worst of it from striking her. Megatron had managed to pull the dagger out of his back and was staring at it as if he did not believe Starscream had really hit him with it.

"Skywarp," Thundercracker's voice called hoarsely from the crowd as she and Starscream slammed their wings together to keep an optic on Soundwave, Megatron, and the Cassetteicons. "What are you doing?"

She gave him a look, smiling sadly at his confused face. "Sorry," she replied with a shrug before she slapped her hand against Starscream's hip just as Lazerbeak dropped towards them. "Switch!"

She and Starscream spun with practiced ease and Lazerbeak's claws scratched against her arm. Reaching up, she caught the little Decepticon by the head and threw him forcefully against Megatron's head. Ducking under Buzzsaw, Skywarp bared her dentas and crouched close to the ground. She glanced over curiously as Soundwave hit the console with enough force to shatter the screens and leave a Soundwave-shaped impression on the thick equipment.

Starscream was just straightening when Megatron let out a bellow.

"Why are you just standing there? Seize those traitors!"

The other soldiers looked confused and gave Skywarp and Starscream uneasy looks. Skywarp smirked and rested her hands on her hips and let out a laugh.

"I do believe they are confused, oh grand one," she grinned at Megatron before leaping away as someone shot at her. "En garde, my good soldier!"

Onslaught narrowed his optics and took a threatening step forward. Starscream's hand was on Skywarp's, pulling her backwards just enough to get her point across.

"Let's go, Sky," she growled.

"Right away,_ mia sorella_," Skywarp replied as she focused on the sky far above them.

"Skywarp, what are you doing?" Thundercracker shouted just as her teleportation circuitry fired up.

"Sorry," she repeated with a small shrug and let her hologram fall just as she teleported away. "Guess I lied."

Starscream bolted for the sky as soon as they solidified, dragging Skywarp up behind her a good mile before her thrusters finally ignited. The next joor was confusing. The thrill of fighting wore away and left her too much room to just cry. The Cons were behind them somewhere, the comm-link buzzing with their furious shouts to track them down. Loudest of all, for her at least, was Thundercracker demanding co-ordinates.

When they finally arrived at the Autobot base and where greeted by a lot of rifles and terrified looking mechs, Skywarp stumbled slightly and ended up in a heap on the ground. The night sky above twinkled mischievously down at her, but she could not bring herself to care.

Just a few joors ago she and Thundercracker had sat on the tower and snuggled. Thundercracker had asked how they were supposed to make this work when they only knew how to be friends and she had replied that they would figure it out. He had nuzzled her and she had stupidly whispered that she would never leave him. She had lied, flat out lied, and her spark was wailing pitifully for the mech that she could not have because she was an idiot.

Starscream walking with someone, a hand on her hip as she spoke. Her familiar, controlled movements and calm inflictions so different from the eons that she had served as Megatron's right-hand mech that it was like staring at a total stranger. Then her optics rolled in annoyance and Skywarp let out a shaky laugh.

"Can we come in please?" she asked sweetly. "I need to collapse on a berth before my processor fails completely. Oh, and Jazz needs to be updated on the current score between Onslaught and Brawl; Onslaught's winning."

"Whoo! Called it!" Jazz laughed as he walked over and offered her a hand. "Welcome back, kiddo."

Skywarp reached up to accept the helping hand and leant on his shoulder as she got her feet under her. The other Autobots were giving her unsure looks and she waved weakly.

"Don't mind me, just going to go collapse in a spare room and recharge for a month," she chirped as she flopped a little too heavy on Jazz and almost took him to the ground.

Jazz, quickly stabilizing himself, started walking towards the base, whistling softly before he was tackled by a red and yellow blur. Skywarp squeaked as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker hoisted her over their heads and let out a shout as they charged into the base.

"THE PRANKSTER TRINE IS BACK IN ACTION!"

* * *

Starscream rested against her mate's chest and nuzzled him slowly. Skyfire's hand rolled over her wings, massaging the quivering appendages as she relaxed slowly. He smiled briefly, feeling his mate's confusion and misery through their bond.

"Star?" he asked gently. "I felt it, you know."

Starscream touched her split derma and sighed sadly. "I…he…I should have been used to it by now," she whispered quietly.

Skyfire kissed her gently and rolled onto his side so that Starscream could tuck herself under his chin and hide her face. "No one ever gets used to abuse, fake or not," he soothed.

"Finalize the trine with a mech that didn't even know me," Starscream laughed hollowly. "What was I thinking? I was supposed to kill the slagger, not fall in love and invite him into my trine."

Skyfire did not say a word, letting his mate find comfort in his arms. He would not have minded Starscream bringing Megatron into the trine; the vorns of abuse were mostly for show and Starscream was resilient regardless of what part she was acting. Even he could not figure out why Megatron's backhand had struck such a low nerve when she's had limbs shot off when they first met each other and were much more cordial towards the other.

Whatever had caused her to lash out and finally try to end him, it had gotten her and Skywarp out of there. Skyfire let out a low sigh as he rested his head on his pillow and pulled Starscream closer to him.

"Vorns are missing from my processor," he whispered gently. "You have changed and I've…."

"If you finish that sentence in any way other than 'I love you' I will kick you off the berth and make you recharge in the rec room," Starscream warned as she tried to wrap her arms around his massive chest. "I've already told you that Unicron's heralds couldn't drag me away from you."

Blushing a little, Skyfire nodded and kissed Starscream's wings. "I love you," he agreed. "Now get some recharge; you've earned it."

Letting out a low murmur of agreement, Starscream curled into her mate's chassis and initiated her recharge cycle.

* * *

Thundercracker stood with his head bowed to Megatron as the Constructicons fixed up his injures. The Decepticon leader's optics were on the floor, not even acknowledging his last Seeker's presence. He let out a low hiss as Mixmaster pulled a piece of fragmented dagger for his back and finally looked up.

"And you had no inclination of your trinemates' treachery?" he demanded.

Thundercracker's wings twitched where they were folded down against his back. "None, my lord."

Megatron let out a low growl as Scrapper sealed up the wound on his stomach. "Regardless of how little I find that believable, I trust your word, Thundercracker," he stated calmly. "But, do ensure that you are extra vicious when you face them in battle. You are dismissed."

Thundercracker bowed at the waist and left the medbay. Megatron waved the Constructicons off but motioned for Hook to remain and finish with the wound on his back. The head of the Constructicons worked silently to pick the last pieces of debris from the warlord's back until Megatron let out a low growl.

"You said that if and when they finally broke that I would not be the wiser," he snapped.

"I did not think they would go out in such a blaze," Hook replied as he began to seal the wound. "I knew them from their sparklinghood, my lord, and neither had the lean towards showy displays. They are efficient, but this…. I believe Starscream did not appreciate being backhanded for her opinion and caution."

Megatron curled a hand into a fist. "I will make her pay for this," he snarled.

"For finally getting her head on straight and attempting to complete her mission?" Hook asked dryly. "Even you cannot be that angry with the soldier you have such strong affection for."

Megatron gave Hook a withering look, but the medic simply lifted an optic ridge. If anyone else had spoken to him like that, they would be out cold on the floor. But Hook was different. Hanging his head after a moment, Megatron rose to his feet.

"This is war," he stated simply. "I have to do what must be done to win."

"If you want my opinion," Hook smirked as he stood up and wiped his hands clean on a cloth. "I don't think they will stay with the Autobots for long."

"Oh?" Megatron snorted sceptically.

"They have been with us for almost the entirety of the war, my lord," Hook shook his head. "Do you think they really hold any of the Autobots' ideals in their sparks after they have fired on their own? No, I don't think they will be there for long." Shrugging a shoulder, he turned around. "Besides, I'm sure Skyfire will want to jump you too to see if you would make a good trinemate."

Megatron gave Hook a look of confusion as the medic vanished into his office. With only a small shudder of outright fear for his sanity, he turned and started walking tiredly towards his room and his awaiting berth.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Skywarp put a hand over Sideswipe's mouth to keep his snickers in as footsteps rushed past their hiding spot. Ironhide's voice promised death for them if he caught them and she was not keen on getting caught so soon after he had been painted such a wonderful shade of green. Only when she was certain that he was far away did she carefully open the door to the cleaning room and peer out cautiously into the hallway. It was deserted on both sides.

"Coast clear?" Sunstreaker asked.

"Looks like it," Skywarp replied as she stepped out and ran a quick scan of the immediate area. "Prank number six since my return and I still haven't had to go see Ratchet."

"That's a record," Sideswipe grinned as he clapped her shoulder. "I do believe we should celebrate the return of our final member."

"Don't celebrate just yet," a voice called and they all stiffened. "I could call Ironhide to come deal with the misbehaving sparklings."

"But you wouldn't," Skywarp laughed as she turned around to confront her sister with a wide grin and a sweet look in her optics. "You love your little sister."

"Perhaps," Starscream shrugged a shoulder as she ran her stylus over the datapad in her hand and did not bother giving them any sort of acknowledgement. "Or perhaps I'm in a bad mood and feel like indulging the Decepticon nature that I have ingrained into me."

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker tensed, their optics narrowing in disdain. Skywarp's wings barely twitched as she watched her sister's movements. Starscream was tense and unhappy, her wings held high over her head as she leant against the wall at the end of the hallway. Prodding her com-link curiously, Skywarp shook her head.

"They aren't Prowl," she reasoned.

"No, they aren't," Starscream agreed as she looked up to meet Skywarp's gaze with her cold optics. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to like them either."

"Star," Skywarp started to say before her sister lifted her hand.

"Five minutes," she warned. "I'm sure you can find somewhere to hide in that time." A rather sad and painful-looking smile crept across her face. "That is, if Optimus doesn't call a meeting in the next two minutes."

Skywarp gave her sister a pointed look before she grabbed the Twins and teleported away. Starscream's misery slammed against her spark for a moment, the only indication that she wanted Skywarp to understand where she stood, and Skywarp winced. They appeared in a hallway on the other side of the Ark and quickly high-tailed it down the hall as fast as they could.

Once they had found a room to duck into; Skyfire's lab, as it turned out and they were careful to not touch anything; Sideswipe gave Skywarp a pointed look. "Sky, your sister is starting to scare me," he huffed.

Skywarp shrugged a shoulder miserably. "What do you expect me to do about it?" she asked. "Tell Prowl to leave my sister alone? He has every right to be suspicious of us."

"He doesn't mind Mirage," Sideswipe pointed out.

"Mirage also wasn't undercover for most of the war and had not managed to elevate himself to Megatron's personal command circle," Sunstreaker snorted. "I just wish she'd find someone else to take her frustration on."

The door to the room slid open and they all flew to the far corner on instinct. Perceptor blinked at them in surprise, his bright blue optics just peeking over the mound of datapads he had in his hands. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe waved enthusiastically at him as Skywarp gave him a pointed look that spoke words for her. She was still upset about his last invention that had her grounded for a week while the Constructicons tried to figure out a way to keep her systems from shorting out every time she tried to ignite her thrusters. Yes, she understood that the war effort needed test subjects to validate their weapons, but she would have preferred not getting shot out of the sky and left to fend off some very, VERY angry mechs.

Before they had a chance to speak with the mech, their com-link went off. Sure enough, it was Optimus calling everyone to the command center. Skywarp offered to teleport Perceptor there, but he refused quickly, stuttering that he would much rather trust his feet in this instant. Accepting the refusal; so many mechs were fearful of teleporting and she was largely to blame for that; she grabbed the Twins and teleported them into the command center.

She received several glares as she and the Twins appeared out of thin air and was tempted to tell them that they were lucky they had not teleported on top of them. But, somehow, she was able to keep her glossa in check. She saw Ratchet standing on the other side of the room and made a point to ignore him as well as she could while she gave Optimus her full attention. It took a few minutes for everyone to arrive, but when all the soldiers were assembled, Optimus started talking.

Skywarp was not really interested in the jargon he was spitting up and leant back against the wall to keep herself from falling over. Prowl and Jazz were giving each other looks at points during Optimus' spiel and she knew that the Autobot leader was saying things both of them would have preferred not mentioned. Particularly when he called Starscream forward to discuss her findings about the Decepticons.

Starscream was not comfortable under the numerous Autobot gazes. Almost all the looks held malice and that was enough to make even the most talented public speaking mech falter. Add in the fact that she was supposed to be the mech that had gotten the reputation for being inept under Megatron's command and her words suddenly seemed foolish.

But Starscream explained everything that she could, right down to who was likely to take over her position of Second-in-Command. Skywarp did not really think that Soundwave would accept the promotion, but she was keeping that piece of detail to herself as Starscream finished explaining that, regardless of what the spies had figured out, Motormaster did NOT have more say in the tactical warfare than Onslaught and anyone who assumed that the Combaticons were just mercenaries really did not understand what they were dealing with.

"Onslaught is not the thick-processored imbecile that he displays on the battlefield," Starscream warned as she gave the room a pointed glare. "He is intelligent; slag, the mech would be considered a genius if he had been sparked in the right sector! And not one of the other gestalt members is lacking in cranial activity. I know that you all like to think that the Decepticons are just chest thumpers who know nothing but violence, but guess what? THAT'S HOW THEY'VE KILLED SO MANY AUTOBOTS." She inhaled carefully and gave them a sincere smile. "I know you all hate me; to be honest, none of you are really that high on my list of favourite mechs in existence. But that does not matter; I am not going to allow the Decepticons to eliminate the Autobots because we have decided to ignore facts and instead embrace the fiction that is easier to swallow."

She flicked her wings and gave a small snort. "Does that incite the honesty you desired, Optimus?" she asked bitterly. "Because I much rather prefer the speech you said was too offensive."

"Your opinion has been noted, Starscream," Optimus nodded carefully. "And I will ensure that everyone respects your position."

Starscream's derma twitched minutely, a brief flicker of movement that translated through their com-link easily. 'He wants me to be like my role in the Decepticon army; licking his boots to keep my aft online.'

Skywarp allowed a brief grin to cross her face, enjoying the uneasy looks she received. 'Then he'd better hope you don't decide to also be the backstabber and shoot him while everyone is watching,' she purred in amusement.

"Skywarp," Optimus called, making her jump and look at him like an organic deer in the headlight, "you have also collected knowledge on the Decepticon hierarchy, correct?"

"Yes sir," Skywarp replied as she straightened up and ignored Cliffjumper's glare.

"What can you tell us of their workings?"

"Nothing that has not been in my reports, sir," Skywarp replied, masking her unease with practiced efficiency.

"How about you enlighten us about the gestalts?" Ratchet offered. "Or the workings of the Seeker trines?"

Skywarp did not even bother shooting Ratchet a glare as she let out a snort of amusement. "Really? The Seeker trines? Ratchet, with all due respect, there are five individuals here that would understand a word of what I was saying and they do not have the ability to trine as they are a gestalt unit first and foremost and I do not feel like grating programming that they have no control over."

"And why do you think that none of us will understand?" Blaster demanded.

"Same reason I can't understand the ingrained desire of tapedecks to split-spark numerous cassettes," she replied as she turned to bow her head politely to the mech that technically had a higher rank than her. "There is programming missing that is crucial to getting the inner workings of a trine."

"Skywarp, there is nothing that you can offer?" Optimus asked.

"None, sir," she replied as Prowl looked directly at her.

"Tell us how to remove Thundercracker from the Decepticon ranks."

Skywarp snarled viciously, her wings flying up in outrage as she took an aggressive step forward. Starscream mirrored her, dentas bared as her optics turned a shade of blue that was borderline black. Prowl did not move, but his optics narrowed accusingly. Inhaling deeply, Skywarp let a savage smile spread across her face.

"There's lesson one of a trine," she crooned as sarcasm dripped poison from her glossa. "No matter what side of the war we are on, you never, ever make threats against any member of a trine."

"So you are more loyal to the Decepticons," Prowl summarized.

"Let's put it this way," Starscream chuckled dangerously low. "If you told either of us to shoot Thundercracker, we would sooner turn the gun on you." Her wings flicked slowly. "But you can be assured that any other soldier is as good as dead if you order it."

"And yet Megatron still lives," Ironhide snorted. "Some assassin."

Starscream looked at Ironhide carefully and smirked. "Green looks good on you, old mech," she purred acidly. "Almost like the Constructicons took a round out of you. Bet they would love to teach you a lesson."

"You threatening me, Screech?" Ironhide snarled, ignoring Optimus order to stand down. He pulled his gun out of his subspace and pointed it at Starscream, his finger already starting to squeeze the trigger. "Give me one good reason."

There was a flash of white and Starscream grinned widely as Ironhide was pinned against the wall by the throat by an extremely vicious Skyfire. Everyone stared at the gentle giant in shock and fright as Ironhide clawed uselessly at Skyfire's arm.

"Threatening, Ironhide?" Starscream laughed as she gave her wings a sultry flutter. "I'm only telling you what it looks like. After all, wasn't it you that said I should have been sucking…."

"That is enough, Starscream," Optimus stated calmly as he walked forward and grabbed Skyfire's arm. "Skyfire, release Ironhide now." Skyfire did not argue, but his blue optics were still smoldering with hatred. "All three of you will experience brig time for this. We do not need infighting any more than we need ill-prepared soldiers. Starscream, if you…."

A siren blared through the base and Red Alert darted for the control panel, his fingers flying across the console. In the next second, the image of a smoldering wind turbine farm appeared on the screen. The Decepticons were milling about collecting energon, not even acknowledging the humans that were fleeing in terror.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" Optimus shouted.

* * *

Skywarp darted back and forth across the sky, fighting with the mechs that had once been her comrades. They were furious and attacked without thought, but she was not a weakling and they were just as injured as she was. Starscream flew at her side, giving her all the support she could as the Coneheads, Vortex, Blastoff, and the Triple-changers threw themselves again and again at them.

"This isn't working," Skywarp growled as she dodged just in time, feeling Vortex's sharp rotors graze her shoulder. "Star, any ideas?"

Starscream twisted out of Blastoff's reach and snarled at him. 'Only one; keep fighting,' she replied bitterly. 'They can't fight forever.'

'Neither can we,' Skywarp replied as she willingly changed to com-link as Vortex charged her again. A brief flash of an idea and darted out of Vortex's way at the last second. 'Star, want to live up to your name?'

Starscream whipped around in time to avoid getting caught in Blastoff's arms. Her optics were wide in shock but a twisted smile crossed her face as she gave the heaving mech a look that Skywarp almost purred at. She darted out of Vortex's path again, but not before he scored a deep gash into her leg that sent tendrils of hot pain shooting through her.

"Skywarp, behind me now!" Starscream shouted as she squared herself up with the Coneheads and Triple-changers as they rose into the air.

Skywarp teleported behind her sister, ducking her head down as she started getting shot at. Her own gun was firing below them as Astrotrain charged them, his optics narrowed furiously. Starscream's hand touched Skywarp's for a moment before she opened her mouth.

It was wrong to call it a scream. The sound was too primitive, too internalized to be called a scream. But there was no other word for it and that was what the world saw it as. Starscream screamed and the other Seekers fell to the ground far below. Their limbs were locked and their optics were wide as static crackled through their processor. It was chilling, especially the look of horror on the ground troops faces as the flight-capable slammed into the ground hard enough to crack struts.

Starscream's scream cut off suddenly and Skywarp looked up fearfully. Thundercracker floated a short distance away. He was gazing at them silently, the pain and anger in his optics prevalent enough to make Skywarp keen weakly against her sister's shoulder.

"Why?" he finally growled. The hurt and pain transmitting openly over the trine com-link was hard to shoulder, but Skywarp lifted her head and did her best to meet his optics.

"We had to," she replied simply.

"Spies," he snarled, flaring his wings in outrage. "Liars, traitors, deceivers…!" His optics trembled as he lifted one of his null-rays, the ones that Starscream had designed specifically for them. His arm shook horribly but he did not fire. He could not fire. "I wish I could make you pay," he snarled.

Starscream shifted minutely and Thundercracker bared his dentas fearfully. "I do too," she replied softly. "We never should have gone this long; who knows, maybe you would have followed us before." Thundercracker gave her a dark look and Skywarp keened again. "Is there still a chance, Thundercracker?"

"No," he spat. "The Autobots…there is nothing there for me. You know that." His optics darkened for a moment and he lowered his gun. "Shoot them," he hissed. "If either of you are the mechs I knew, shoot them!"

Skywarp looked down at the Autobots and, regardless of her want to go to Thundercracker and pretend nothing happened; it was so much easier than dealing with part of her being that was tearing itself apart because this was not how it was supposed to be; she shook her head. Everyone was watching them, no doubt judging, but they were not shooting for some odd reason.

"Thundercracker," Starscream murmured softly, "I know. But we cannot change what we are."

Skywarp gave her sister a confused look, sensing the hidden meaning under her words. Thundercracker blinked in confusion before they all darted away as a huge gray shape flew up between them. Starscream snarled and brought her null-rays up, glaring at Megatron as he hovered in between them. His red optics bore into them, but Skywarp shifted enough to get her own null-rays on him.

Megatron did not say anything, but Skywarp heard, distantly, the sound of the Decepticons retreating with their haul. Starscream was tense, waiting for the swift movement of his fusion cannon rising. It would be faster to teleport and she rested a hand on her sister's hip in preparation.

"Thundercracker, fall back," Megatron ordered with such a clear, calm voice that all three of them jumped in surprise.

Thundercracker only hesitated long enough to throw them a sad, longing look before he followed his orders. Megatron turned his head to watch Thundercracker leave and Starscream shot him. He snarled in surprise as the shot pinged off of his shoulder, leaving a scorch mark on his armor and he twisted his head to look at Starscream.

Skywarp teleported them away but not before she saw the confused look on the Decepticon leader's face. They materialized a short distance from the battlefield and Skywarp gave Starscream a hard shove.

"What were you thinking?" she demanded. "He could have killed us! And since when did your null-ray only leave a scorch mark?"

"Since I put it on its lowest setting to make sure I did not deplete any more energy," Starscream sighed as she rubbed her face. "And because it was enough of a distraction to make him forget that he had a fusion cannon."

Skywarp hissed as she rubbed her face with both hands, letting her frustration out that way rather than grabbing her sister and shaking her. "Warn me next time!"

Starscream smiled sadly before she took Skywarp's hand. "Come on; Optimus will want a full report on that whole incident. Then I get to spend brig time with my mate and Ironhide."

Skywarp let out a weak laugh as she teleported them both back to base. Her spark settled down once she was out of range of Thundercracker's energy signature, but it still hurt and she collapsed onto Starscream's berth immediately. She gave a short sentence about doing the report later and let herself drop into recharge.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Thundercracker paused, wings rising as he watched Soundwave scroll through a datapad. Under normal circumstances, he would not have given the Communication's Officer a second look. But this was his quarters and Soundwave should not have had access to it.

"Can I help you?" he asked calmly as he stepped into his quarters.

"Close the door," Soundwave ordered. "We have to discuss matters in private."

Thundercracker narrowed his optics, not liking Soundwave's tone. Or lack thereof. But it was different from the usual monotone and that made him uneasy. "Does Megatron know of this?" he asked.

"Lord Megatron has other matters to deal with," Soundwave replied as he set the datapad down. "Close the door, Thundercracker."

Complying, Thundercracker prepped a gun just in case he had to make a getaway. Soundwave might have been strong, but he was not immune to getting shot in the face.

"What did you want to discuss with me?" he asked as carefully as he could.

Soundwave gave him what he had long since learnt was a pointed look and walked towards him. "Skywarp and Starscream did not attack you," he stated. "Starscream's attack cut off when you went in front of her."

"We're still trine, regardless of their betrayal," Thundercracker replied miserably. Megatron had already drilled him on this and he was tired of repeating himself.

Soundwave nodded slowly to himself. There was a momentary pause before Thundercracker found himself pinned against the wall. He struggled as his wrists were pinned to either side of him and Soundwave loomed in unbelievably close. He bared his dentas, but froze as the silent mech's facemask retracted down the center.

"What are you…?" he started to ask before hot dermas crashed over his.

His optics went wide as Soundwave pressed his chassis hard against his, the wide expansion of glass on his chest scraping the orange glass of Thundercracker's nosecone. Thundercracker was not a small mech; he was quite large for a Seeker, his frame filled out enough to make him hardy and better suited for fighting than most of his fellows; but Soundwave made him feel petite and delicate. His wrists were released for a moment, giving him a chance to throw a punch, but the thick digits settled on his thighs and hosted him up to wrap his legs around Soundwave's waist. His wrists were pinned again, leaving him baring his dentas against Soundwave's dermas.

"This is inapprop…!" Thundercracker started to say before he was silenced with another kiss.

Soundwave's mind brushed his and Thundercracker snarled. He was not in the mood for this kind of slag and he was not going to be forced into it either. Soundwave's mouth pulled away for a moment and Thundercracker took the reprieve to vent cool air through his heating systems. He wasn't totally immune to the clear attempts to arouse him, but Seeker coding did not mean he jumped the first thing that offered interfacing.

He opened his mouth again, waiting for Soundwave to pounce. Instead, he managed to get his sentence out. "And what the slag do you hope to achieve with this?" he snapped bitterly. "I'm not some stereotype of a Seeker, you should be well aware of that by now."

Soundwave was silent before a smile that actually made Thundercracker's spark thump in alarm crossed his features. He actually was very attractive when the silent mech was not looming nearby. Thundercracker swallowed as Soundwave's hands pushed his wrists behind his back and switched so that only one hand was holding them hostage.

"If they are connected to you, Thundercracker, than I can delve into their processors through yours," he replied. "But, I need a medium to pass through that will provide the least amount of resistance. With Seekers, I have learnt that is interfacing."

"And you plan on fragging me to get at Starscream and Skywarp," Thundercracker growled. "You think I'd be so willing to allow that, even if they did betray us?"

"You don't want to know why?" Soundwave countered. "They never gave you an inkling to believe that they were spies. How could they hide that from a trinemate?"

"We don't know each other's thoughts," Thundercracker snorted. "It's not a fragging sparkbond. Feelings can get transmitted, primitive thoughts, that sort of thing. If Skywarp or Starscream wanted to keep a secret, they could. Slag, how else would Skywarp have been able to prank me and Starscream?"

Soundwave nodded slowly. "But you would still like to know," he replied. "Your processor is swirling from that question. Let me have a look, Thundercracker. I promise that you will enjoy it."

Thundercracker growled before nodding. He expected to be breached immediately; most mechs seemed to forget about prep-work; but Soundwave started working him towards overload without even worrying about his panel sliding back.

Kicking and panting within a few minutes, Thundercracker snarled as Soundwave finally pushed into him and started moving. His processor opened up under Soundwave's mental domination, letting him take the sacred paths that would connect him to Skywarp's and Starscream's, however silent and distant the connection would be.

Starscream twitched as something touched her mind. She pushed herself down into her berth in the brig, grumbling and rolling over. Skyfire grunted across from her, his massive frame lying on the ground instead of the berth that was much too small for him.

She lifted her head to watch him, smiling fondly as his wings twitched. He was such a gentle spark; it pained her to think that it was her fault that he had gotten dragged into this mess. Sighing, she was about to roll over when she felt a familiar push in her processor and froze.

How had Soundwave managed to find her? Hissing, she scrambled to her feet and flared her wings, looking around in alarm. How had he gotten into the Ark? It took a second for her to realize how faint the connection was and she settled down. But only just.

'What do you want, Soundwave?' she snarled softly

'Answers,' was all Soundwave was willing to give in return.

Starscream felt him prodding around in her processor and rolled her optics in annoyance. Of course. Slowly, arousal began to trickle over the connection and she squirmed unhappily.

'Are you fragging Thundercracker?' she demanded as she climbed back onto the berth and kicked her feet at the fact that she couldn't get to her mate to alleviate the burning feeling in her circuitry.

Soundwave did not answer her, but it became clear that he was as more arousal pooled in her middle. Letting him do what he wanted, Starscream focused on keeping her fans running and not alerting the mech in charge of cellblock duty. She didn't need to be made fun of or be given an offer to interface with a mech that clearly did not think of her as anything more than a "Seeker whore".

Luckily, Soundwave found whatever he was looking for and moved on. Grumbling, Starscream flared her wings at the soft grunt her mate gave and sent a quick warning to her sister. Glancing at her mate, she prodded their bond and made it quite clear that she wanted a show and she wanted it now.

Skywarp glared at Ratchet as he finished with her wings. She was restless and irritable, tired of listening to him complain and gripe about how she handled herself in the meeting and on the battlefield. She just wanted to go to her quarters to recharge.

"Are you listening?" Ratchet demanded.

"No," Skywarp replied. "I haven't been listening to you for the past joor. Same slag you always spout."

"Skywarp," Ratchet snorted. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Skywarp demanded. "I have every reason to be angry, Ratchet! In case you failed to notice, very few mechs trust me, most want me gone, and you, of all mechs, STILL refuse to give me my upgrades."

"We've been over this, Skywarp," Skywarp sighed. "We don't have the resources for that."

"Oh really?" Skywarp snarled. "Then how come Bumblebee is a mech? How come Cliffjumper is? Or any of the ones you recruited while here on Earth? You think I'm stupid? YOU GAVE THEM THEIR UPGRADES!"

Ratchet did not waver under her shout and simply turned to put his tools away. "That is a difference circumstance," he replied evenly. "We do not have the resources here on Earth to give you that upgrade, Skywarp."

"What the slag are you afraid of?" she snarled furiously, getting to her feet and flaring her wings. "What is there that you are not telling me?"

"Skywarp, calm down," Ratchet replied gently. Too gently.

"Tell me!"

"Skywarp, please…."

"Tell me what you are hiding you fragging old, overbearing, abusive slag-maker of a…!"

"I will not lose you to the Decepticons!"

Skywarp stopped and looked at Ratchet. Actually looked at him. He was trembling, his hands clenched tightly around his signature wrench, and his chest rising and falling with his loud vents. He looked angry, but Skywarp also knew that anger was a very good cover for fear. She let her wings drop, all her venom gone and replaced with a kind of tired annoyance.

"And resisting the natural order is going to help?" she asked.

"Lots of Autobot femmes are content to stay as they are; I don't see why you cannot be too," Ratchet snapped.

"They also parade around and get upgrades to make them look like organics," Skywarp replied a little coldly. He was not comparing her to Elita-1! "This is a sign of maturity, Ratchet. And I can get every upgrade that a Seeker needs to stay healthy."

"You are healthy," Ratchet tried to soothe.

"For a sparkling, maybe," Skywarp replied bitterly. "But not for a full-grown mech. Frag, I'm not even as tall as I should be!"

"This discussion is over," Ratchet snorted as he turned away.

Skywarp could not stop herself from sinking to a new level of low and regretted it almost immediately. "Coder would have let me grow up."

Ratchet went incredibly still and Skywarp's wings fell in horror at what she had just said. But she swallowed the shame and held herself up as high as she could. She knew she was right even though it was a horrible, horrible thing to say.

"Leave, Skywarp."

Skywarp turned and walked to the door of the medbay. "You know I'm right," she replied bitterly as she walked out.

Ratchet did not say anything to her as the door slid shut, but Skywarp knew that he was tearing himself apart inside. Punching the wall in frustration, she stormed off towards her quarters. She just managed to fling herself onto her berth before she got the warning from Starscream about Soundwave.

Then the pleasure hit.

Gasping, Skywarp arched off of her berth and scrambled madly at the surface. Her optics turned white as her chassis reacted with each wave that shot through her. Soundwave was prodding away inside of her processor, using the pleasure as a distraction.

Her fingers moved blindly towards the very distant Thundercracker and she gripped the blankets as she felt his response. There was no hatred or anger, not even the littlest trace of resentment. He was too far gone to even care and she happily pressed against him as Soundwave made it possible.

They overloaded together, voices mingling over the space and she slumped against the berth with a soft purr. Soundwave seemed to have found whatever it was that he was looking for and started to pull away. Skywarp was going to let him, rolling over and kicking her feet contently, but then she felt Thundercracker trying to reach her.

A set of coordinates were transferred to her and she tilted her head curiously. Before she could ask what he was planning, both he and Soundwave were gone. Huffing, she snuggled under her covers and prepared for a nice long recharge. At least the tension was gone from her chassis.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Skywarp landed outside the cave that Soundwave had specified and could not help but pace. This was likely the dumbest thing she had done in a long time and that was probably stretching the word "dumb" thin. This was idiotic, meeting with Decepticons that knew she had been leaking information and had express clear outrage over the whole ordeal so that they could frag. Clearly, parts of her processor were not functioning properly if she thought this was a good idea.

As she started her thirteenth lap, she heard jet engines. Looking up, she felt her spark flutter rapidly as Thundercracker angled himself towards the cave. He could fire his weapons at any moment and eradicate her. Wouldn't take much effort, really; a couple of rounds and she would be gone. But he didn't fire or give any indication that he would.

He landed in front of her and smiled a little, rubbing his neck as Soundwave, in his tiny cassette player alt, tumbled to the ground. "Sorry we're late," he murmured. "Megatron's been cracking down on security since…well," he shrugged a shoulder nervously and refused to meet her gaze.

"Can't say I blame him," Skywarp shrugged and stepped closer, tucking her head under his jaw. "Missed you," she murmured softly so that only he would hear.

His arms wrapped tightly around her waist and they both let out soft purrs as they pressed against each other. It was a private, affectionate moment that was only interrupted by Soundwave's massive frame suddenly drawing both of them close. Skywarp's wings rose fearfully as thick digits slipped to wider seams and teased at the sensitive wires.

"Um…hi?" Skywarp murmured as she glanced at Thundercracker.

Thankfully, he looked just as annoyed with the touching and gave Soundwave a good shove. "Do you really have to be that touchy when we clearly didn't ask for it?"

Soundwave snorted softly and Skywarp only had enough time to cycle a bit of air through her systems before his mouth was over hers. Squeaking, she tried to wiggle away, but his arms pulled her closer and she allowed it to happen. He pulled away just as quickly and, even if he was unnaturally gorgeous without his facemask on, Skywarp shuffled over to Thundercracker and shivered.

"Okay, don't do that again please," she shivered. "You might have arranged this, but you know that you aren't the one that we are in a relationship with, right?"

"As I recall, you are part of a trine with Thundercracker and Starscream," Soundwave replied. "Yet she is mates with Skyfire. I fail to see the difference."

"You're creeping the slag out of us," Skywarp replied with a shrug. "And Star's my sister so trining with her is out of the question."

Soundwave tilted his head and stepped back against the wall. "Very well, have your fun," he replied calmly.

Skywarp snuggled against Thundercracker and smirked as he started kissing her neck. "So now he's a voyeur," she giggled as she started mewling.

"Mmm, better than him stroking my hip while I'm trying to get you excited," he huffed. "That's distracting."

Skywarp did not bother to hold in her laugh as she latched onto Thundercracker and made him tumble to the ground.

Starscream stood opposite Megatron and tried not to squirm too much under his gaze as he looked over the offering. "You can't seem to make up your mind as to which side you are on," he commented dryly.

"Can you blame me?" she snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "I have no respect from anyone, they all think I'm a traitor, it's a fight to get anything done, and Ratchet refuses to give us the upgrades we need on account of Seekers never sticking around."

Megatron tilted his head curiously towards her as he read through the datapad. "Has Skywarp agreed to this?" he asked.

"No, but it would be safer not to get her opinion," Starscream replied. "Regardless of what you know her as, she is a lot more cautious and thorough in her planning."

Megatron gave her a look that bespoke his disbelief without uttering a word. He handed the datapad back to her and nodded. "Your offering seems adequate," he stated formally. As she took the datapad, his hand tightened around her wrist. "Star…."

"I know," she smiled as she stepped closer and nuzzled his chin. "I missed you too. Skyfire is ready to get to know you too."

"He approves after all he has seen?" he asked in a strangely nervous tone.

"He doesn't mind," she smirked. "Besides, he knows what I know and can't wait to romp about with you."

"He doesn't strike me as the kind to let me dominate him," Megatron frowned.

Grinning devilishly, Starscream pulled away and fluttered her wings enticingly. "Who says he would?" she cooed as she started walking away. "You'll be at the meeting place?"

"Yes," Megatron replied shakily. "Both of you have to be there or we don't move forward."

"Understood," Starscream nodded. "I look forward to serving you again, Lord Megatron."

With a bow, she transformed and flew back towards the base, not caring if Jazz had seen the entire exchange. Let him tell Optimus about it; she'd be gone before any of them had a chance to arrest her.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Are you alright, Skywarp?" Sunstreaker asked as they slumped against the couch in the rec room with their energon cubes.

"Of course," she replied with a small shrug. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"A number of reasons," Sideswipe teased. "You've been acting distant since you came back. Don't tell me the Cons were more fun than the two of us."

"I won't," she promised as she sipped her energon. "Just got a lot on my mind."

She could feel the worried look the twins shot over her wings. They didn't like it when she got broody and she didn't really like it either. But, she had a lot to muddle over and think through, mostly about the growing trine between herself, Thundercracker, and Soundwave.

It was getting harder and harder to think of decent excuses to be away from the base. Megatron never gave Thundercracker and Soundwave a hard time; apparently they were incredibly obvious about their attempts to trine. She was slightly jealous of that, but kept her mouth tightly shut to avoid complaining to the wrong mech. And she did miss the protective grip Soundwave always had when they were all resting against each other.

He was clearly the trineleader. There was no question about it. He was the more dominant personality of their threesome, his needs always perfectly clear and obvious to her and Thundercracker. He was defensive and protective, even going so far as to pin one of the Coneheads against the wall after he had heard one of them make a snide remark about her. But, that was going by what he had said and not something she had actually witnessed; still a lovely thought though.

"Know where Star is?" Skywarp asked as she finished her cube. She needed to talk to her sister.

"Shouldn't you know?" Sideswipe asked as he poked her cockpit.

"She's been defensive lately," Skywarp shrugged. "Not going to push boundaries if she's going into heat and doesn't want me to experience it too."

That was a blatant lie; Seekers didn't go into heat until after their last upgrade. Luckily for her, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker did not know enough about Seeker physiology or biomechanics to comment. They just grimaced and glanced at each other.

"Think she's in her office," Sunstreaker replied as he picked at a rare spot of bunched paint on his wrist. "Hopefully not having Skyfire frag her against the desk."

The urge to lash out and strike Sunstreaker was a terrifying sensation and Skywarp thanked them both quickly before she fled. She had never wanted to hit someone like that before; yes, the thought of Skyfire and her sister going at it in her office was terrifying, but the tone that Sunstreaker had used made her internal components spin in fury. There had been disgust, as if the very thought of someone touching Starscream with love was repulsive.

But she should have known that would happen. Starscream had been the enemy for a very long time. She was synonymous with repulsive and horrid. It was likely that anything "sexy" about her had long since been stripped away.

Shaking her head furiously to dislodge the thought, Skywarp knocked on the door to her sister's office and waited. It opened after a minute, Skyfire's huge frame easily blocking the way in.

"Hello, Skywarp," he greeted with a smile. "Starscream's just putting something away. Come take a seat."

"She employed you as her greeter?" Skywarp teased as he stepped back to let her in.

"Try telling him not to get the door when the doorbell goes off," Starscream called as she hovered near one of the huge cabinets at the back of her office. "He's like a cyberhound sometimes." Landing, Starscream flicked her wings and tipped her head to the side. "What's wrong, little sister?"

"What isn't?" Skywarp sighed as she flopped into a chair and dramatically lifted her hand to her forehead. "Everyone glares at me, the energon sucks, flights are restricted, Ratchet's an aft, Tracks hogs all the wax, and…."

"And your trinemates are Decepticons," Skyfire finished with a smirk. At Skywarp's terrified look, he shrugged a shoulder. "I'm a good big brother, Skywarp; I notice these things."

"How many others know?" Skywarp demanded, looking between her sister and Skyfire desperately.

"Just us," Starscream reassured her. "No one else knows what to look for." Sitting down behind her desk, Starscream's optics narrowed. "As your superior officer, I think what you are doing is suicidal. Those are Decepticons you are falling for; dangerous ones at that. As your sister, I want to know why you are jumping after them now."

"Do I really have to answer those?" Skywarp huffed.

"No, because I already know the answer," Starscream smirked. "I just want you to be safe, Skywarp. This war still isn't over and there is a good chance any one of us could be shot out of the sky tomorrow." She leant back against her chair and laced her fingers together, optics narrowing. "And the fact that you are pursuing Soundwave worries me greatly. I know what he is like."

"I know," Skywarp murmured. "He's big, he's scary, he's absolutely terrifying and probably is the biggest sociopath in the Decepticon army. But he's just…you know?" Skywarp made a weak hand motion and dropped her head pathetically.

Starscream smiled and nodded, glancing at Skyfire in adoration. "I'm well aware of what you mean, Sky," she cooed softly. "I just want you to be careful. Anyone else would hold this as treason."

"It is," Skywarp sighed as she stood up. "Any ideas on how to get everything off my mind?"

"Come for a flight," Starscream chuckled as she stood up. "It'll make you feel better."

Skywarp happily got to her feet, grinning widely as she trotted after her sister and her mate. Skyfire easily cleared the hallways of anyone that might have tried to give them a hard time, everyone so used to Skyfire's size that they did not even stop to think about getting out of his way. It was only after they had passed that they grumbled under their breath about Seekers taking over the base.

Once they made it outside, Skywarp transformed and took to the sky. Starscream streaked by mid-transformation, her chassis making Skywarp jealous for a split-second. She could never hope to look that graceful and magnificent while her chassis was in the middle of twisting around to fold neatly into her flight mode. Starscream was just perfect in the Seeker way of life; it was tragic that Ratchet would never let her upgrade.

"None of that," Starscream called as she flipped over. "Just flying, not thinking about our carrier, got it?"

Skywarp laughed as she teleported in front of Starscream and shot ahead. She heard Starscream laugh behind her and the roar of her engines. Skyfire was somewhere above them, keeping an optic out for Decepticons. Starscream zipped by her underside and banked hard, making Skywarp veer to avoid her. Laughing, the two of them chased each other across the sky.

They left trails behind them, making it easy for them to keep track of where the other one went. Catching sight of Starscream's trail, Skywarp grinned to herself and aimed for it. She could hear her sister shouting at her that she was going to lose. As she started to initiate her teleportation, she heard Starscream cry out in surprise.

As she reappeared on the other side of the playground, Skywarp twisted to find her sister. She couldn't see Starscream's vibrant colours anywhere. Worried, she transformed and let out a whirl of confusion, letting out a loud chirp. The lack of answer made her start panicking. No matter what, a Seeker always answered a chirp from a family member.

"Starscream?" she called out, reaching down the bond for her.

Something smashed into her from above and she rolled with the blow. Darting away as talons raked her shoulder, she spun to watch Ramjet flip over and aim for her again. She glared at the white and grey mech, flaring her wings as his thrusters powered up. She dodged his attack, striking out with a foot as he streaked past. He snarled and rolled to face her, dentas bared to make up for his lack of prominent wings.

Skywarp felt something sting her neck and she immediately reached up to feel what had just hit her. The instant she felt the blunt end of a tranquilizer dart she took off towards the trees. She had exactly five seconds before she would start to feel the effects of the tranq. Teleporting was too dangerous; if she lost control half-way through her systems would be fried permanently. If she could get into the trees, get her back against something, she could fight them off.

Something big hit her and latched onto her. Shrieking, she struggled even as the temporary virus started shutting down her systems. She twisted just enough to see what had hit her and growled sluggishly at Blitzwing. He didn't even give her a smirk as he stopped their descent and started rising. She could make out a large shape against the sun as they rose and she struggled more, biting and kicking at Blitzwing.

Her processor stuttered and she lost track of time. When she came to, she was lying on the floor of a familiar cargohold. Someone was crouching beside her and she lashed out, backing up as the Constructicon moved a mere second before she hit them. Or her reflexes were so sluggish and her chronometer was so laggy that she had not actually posed a threat. She growled at the mech, optics rolling around as the virus tried to force her into forced recharge.

Something moved out of the corner of her vision and she hissed. Or at least tried to. Her glossa was so heavy and swollen that the noise was more of a splutter. A hand rested on her shoulder and she immediately moved into it as she made out Starscream's outline.

"Easy, Skywarp," she soothed. "It's going to be okay.

Starscream's voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. Skywarp whimpered a little, tucking her head into Starscream's elbow. She could faintly hear her sister's soothing voice as she let the virus drag her down. She'd get answers later when she wasn't drugged and likely to not hear everything correctly.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Skywarp resurfaced from the land of oblivion to the sound of voices. They were heavy and hushed, clearly mechs, and they were speaking in medical jargon. If she wasn't so sluggish, the words might have actually made sense. Her processor prepared for a willing power-down, chalking the entire affair to a drunken night with Sunny and Sides where Wheeljack and Ratchet were now deciding how to make her hang-over go away fast. It likely wasn't anything to get worked up about.

"And she's awake," a familiar voice called. "Or at least coherent for the next few minutes before she decides to flop back into recharge, the lazy aft. Good to see that some things remain consistent across the factions."

Yelping in alarm, Skywarp started flailing. Or at least she tried to; her limbs and wings were restrained to the berth, keeping her still even though she wanted nothing more than to leap out off of the berth and flee. That was Mixmaster that had just spoken and wherever he was that meant that the other Constructicons were nearby. That meant she was in the Decepticon base.

Holy slag, she was in the Decepticon base with her Autobot insignias in full sight, strapped to a medical berth with the Constructicons lurking nearby. She was going to offline.

"No, no, no, no, no," she whimpered as she struggled to get loose. "Oh no…no…no!"

"Skywarp," Hook growled as his appeared beside her and pushed her down onto the berth. "Calm down. If you don't, I'm going to have to sedate you and Starscream will have my head if you're out for another few joors. You aren't in danger; Megatron's made sure that no one is coming in here without a serious reason to."

"And I can trust you how?" Skywarp snarled.

"Because you're still online," another voice called.

The cadence was familiar, but the voice itself was new and she was not sure if she liked it. She tried to flare her wings in warning, shifting unhappily as Hook started running scans on her without a single word. She tried to look past the foot of her berth, but as soon as she caught sight of the privacy curtains, Hook pushed her head back down and tapped her nose as he told her to stay still. It was so tempting to just start whining and bemoaning the situation, but she stayed quiet to let the medic finish his scans. The sooner he was done, the sooner she could bolt and find somewhere safe to hide.

She heard the curtain move and she knew the owner of the voice had just left. Voices, muted ones that sounded displeased, drifted through the curtain before three distinct footfalls re-entered the closed off area. Hook grumbled as he finished his scans and instructed Mixmaster to start releasing the restraints on her left.

Bracing herself, Skywarp waited until all of the restraints were loosed to try to teleport. Unfortunately, Hook was far too used to her actions and simply grabbed her wing to make her squeal and stop. Whimpering as he easily held her in place, she looked up at him with her best puppy-dog optics and waited for him to let go.

He wasn't fooled. "You teleporting to the other side of the base would be the dumbest thing you have ever done," he stated calmly. "Aside from disguising yourself as a mech and leaking information to the Autobots for millennia, that is. Honestly, how Megatron never clued in that two of his Elite Trine Seekers were giving away important information that they were only allowed to know I haven't the faintest idea."

"How long did it take you to figure it all out?" Skywarp demanded with a pout.

"I knew since you first opened your mouth," Hook smirked. "You still spoke like the sparkling that stayed on Ratchet's shoulders while he was teaching."

Skywarp's wings sprang up around her head and she stared at Hook. "You went to his lectures?" she demanded in shock. "I didn't think anyone remembered those!"

"Hard to forget Ratchet the Hatchet," Hook chuckled before he glanced over his shoulder. "You can let him go; she won't have time to move."

Hook pulled away and, sure enough, before Skywarp could initiate the program to teleport, Thundercracker flattened her to the berth. She squealed in surprise before she happily tucked herself into his chassis and purred as his hands stroked over her wings and back. Hook did not say a word as he moved away, speaking with Mixmaster about her condition. They left the private curtain and Thundercracker let her sit up just enough for Soundwave to sneak in behind her. She laughed as he easily pulled both of them onto his lap and nuzzled her neck.

She rested her head on his chest, flicking her wings carefully as her trinemates-to-be nuzzled and comforted her. She was safe sandwiched between them. It was a good place to be. Safe and warm, snuggled between the chassis of her trinemates. Thundercracker, with his calm demeanor, and Soundwave, who was terrifying to anyone that had not felt him snuggle against them in post-overload bliss.

"At least you've calmed down," the voice from earlier commented in amusement.

Skywarp lifted her head to politely tell the intruder to frag off, but she could only stare at the mech standing at the end of the berth. Cold blue optics watched her from a dark face while an all too familiar smile toyed with the mech's thin dermas. The large, white wings twitched in amusement while the blue arms crossed over his chest. The red chest rose and fell slowly with the mech's venting. Skywarp's wings trembled in shock and then she snarled.

"You got the upgrade before I did!" she screeched. "That's not even fair, Starscream!"

Starscream let out a soft chuckle as he shifted his weight to show off his new chassis. It was so different from the one he had used as his disguise that it was hard to believe that he had decided to go for such a boxy look. He was still thin and sleek, but there was a solidness to him that Starscream had not possessed as a femme. It was fitting. And the voice was smooth and rather attractive now, rather than screechy and forced. And those claws just screamed "kink".

"I'm older, Skywarp; of course I got the upgrade first," he teased. "I think I look quite nice, don't you?"

"The voice is an improvement," Skywarp shrugged. "Still got some sparkling-bearing hips."

"That doesn't go away with a simple upgrade," Starscream smirked before she tilted her head to the side. "Now, you should likely talk with your trinemates about your upgrades and living conditions. I've got to go track down Skyfire and make sure he isn't looming over anyone and growling when they mention me."

Waving, Starscream turned and left. Soundwave's fingers slid south and played with Skywarp's panel, purring softly in her audio. With a simple roll of her optics, Skywarp let it slide back and tipped her head to kiss the underside of his jaw.

"You are a demanding slagger," she huffed.

Megatron moaned as Skyfire continued his unrelenting pace. It shocked him that the gentle giant could move so harshly, but he was not complaining. He had never been submissive to anyone before, but the instant he had tried to push it onto the larger mech, he found himself on all fours with the shuttle nuzzling him and asking how hard he wanted it.

And Skyfire was blessed with a very good size. How he could fit in Starscream much smaller chassis was beyond his comprehension. Or the mech was a testament to the magic of foreplay. Megatron was more than large enough to handle the stretch though, something that he adored even if he did feel a little strange at being under him.

Skyfire's fingers slipped between his as his dentas sank into the scruff of his neck. Megatron gasped in pain at the feeling, but it was drowned by the pleasure that filled him as Skyfire pushed in deep and overloaded. The spreading of heat in his lower regions brought on Megatron's own overload and the berth below him was covered in dark purple fluids. They slumped to the berth in a heap, purring contently as they shifted slightly to cuddle.

"Mmm, Starscream was right," Skyfire sighed softly as he kissed Megatron's neck and licked over the wound he had left on his scruff. "You really do look wonderful when you overload."

Megatron let out a low noise as he nipped at Skyfire's chin. "Of course he would," he grumbled a little bit.

Skyfire purred as the door to the room opened and Starscream walked in. He lifted an optic ridge at them, an attractive smile sliding across his face as he walked over to the berth and climbed up beside him. Kissing his shoulders, he contently wrapped his legs around Megatron's waist and hugged him close.

"I see from the mess that Skyfire showed you why he is trineleader?" he teased.

"Don't start," Megatron warned. "I don't particularly feel like being the Omega."

"You have the same rank as I do," Starscream teased. "You and I keep him upright."

Megatron chuckled before he sensed that they were plotting something. He gave them both uneasy looks, not trusting whatever they were conversing about. Starscream's fingers slid up his chest to stroke at the seam. Huffing a little at the pleasurable sensation, he glanced back at him and glared.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Well, Skyfire and I would like to complete our trine now that he had made it very clear to you that he is in charge," Starscream replied with a smile that made his blue optics twinkle. "What do you say, Lord Megatron? Care to enter into a Seeker trine officially?"

"I better not get knocked up as soon as this happens," Megatron warned as he let his chest plates separate to show off the trembling red sphere.

"Not likely," Starscream laughed. "I'm out of season. And a red spark; how very rare."

A long claw rolled over his spark and Megatron gasped softly at the sensation. He heard their chest plates separate and he stared at the glowing golden orb in front of him. He blinked in awe as Skyfire's arm looped under him and pulled Starscream up onto Megatron's shoulder. His swirling blue spark trembled as they lay in a triangle with their sparks at the center.

Inhaling slowly, Megatron let himself be pulled to Skyfire and fused his spark with theirs. It was an instantaneous explosion of understanding and feelings. Reeling, he let Skyfire's bulk anchor him as their understanding and love mixed inside of him.

Love. Love. Love. Mine. Affection. Ours. Foolish. Brilliant. Love. Love. Perfect. Finally. Complete. Complete. Complete.

Ours.

Skywarp flicked a wing as Hook handed her a cube of energon. He did not say a word about the purring Thundercracker on her back or the watchful Soundwave that was currently pinning him with a terrifying glare. He shifted his weight just enough to lever his own glare at Soundwave before he snorted.

"That was a dumb move," he commented. "She isn't out of stasis three minutes and you two have her overloading. No energon in her system for joors and you deplete them even lower."

"Bite me," Thundercracker grumbled as he tucked his face into Skywarp's neck as she drank the energon.

He yelped as Hook leant over and bit his wing without hesitation. Staring at him in shock, Thundercracker ignored Skywarp's gagging laugh as he folded his wings down indignantly. Soundwave's chassis trembled with a growl and Hook waved him off.

"Cool it, tomcat," he chuckled. "I didn't leave a dent in his lovely wings."

"Better not have," Thundercracker grumbled as he shot Skywarp a glare as she started hiccupping.

"I haven't seen someone bite someone else's wing since Coder did that to Starscream!" she giggled as she covered her mouth.

"Exactly," Hook snorted before he looked at her. "You'll have a few orns to recover; I want you in top condition before I even start talking about the upgrade with you. Considering your age, there might be some dangers that I and my brothers will have to be careful of. And then we have to figure out where these two clinging vines can stay to watch."

Stroking her intendeds' heads, Skywarp smirked a little. "I'm sure they'll want to watch something as boring as getting a mass injection."

"So long as it doesn't all go to your aft, I won't care," Thundercracker grumbled. "It's perfect just how it is."

Blushing a little, Skywarp coughed and handed Hook the empty cube. He didn't say a word as he turned and walked away, leaving them to talk amongst themselves. Soundwave's hands started stroking over her hips. He didn't say anything, but Thundercracker did shift enough to press his face between her wings. She mewled softly and arched against him, blushing more as both of their hands starts playing with her hips.

"You're mean," she huffed before yipping as one of their hands cupped her exposed valve. "Hey! Foreplay first!"


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Skywarp was not surprised that her return was met with hostility from the other soldiers. She was just surprised she had not been sent to the medbay from getting into a fight. Their level of restraint was amazing and she was proud of them for it. Of course, the fact that Soundwave was always nearby and was gently touching her chassis in some way was a good indicator to stay as far away if they could help it. It certainly helped her feel safer; she was just worried about what would happen when they caught her alone. Sure, she could hold her own, but she didn't like the idea of her against an entire army. It only sounded cool in literature.

Megatron had not put her on any sort of duty yet, so she usually spent her time sitting quietly beside Soundwave as he kept track of all the information coming in from the Coneheads. Thundercracker was out on regular patrols, leaving her pining for him all orn even though Soundwave did his best to keep her content. Her lack of annoying habits seemed to put everyone edge; Skywarp, after all, was supposed to be annoying and loud and rather dumb. Granted, she still wanted to pull pranks and watch people run around furious, but Soundwave would not allow her to leave his side after she decided to follow him to his station.

"I should probably pull a prank just to ease their minds," Skywarp commented as she leant on the console and glanced at Soundwave. "You know, break the tension."

"Negative," Soundwave snorted. "The chance of you being jumped is too high."

"Like I can't defend myself," Skywarp grumbled. "I could totally take on anyone that…."

"Skywarp," Soundwave growled, "no."

Letting her wings fall, Skywarp did not bother to hide her pout. "Spoilsport," she huffed and stuck her glossa out at him.

Soundwave did not respond, but his mind gently pressed down on hers and kindly forced her into submission. Sliding down to the ground, she leant her head on his thigh and sat there silently as he worked. She knew that there was no reason to argue with him over this. Yes, she knew it was dangerous, yes she knew that her getting jumped was a very, very bad thing. She just really needed to figure out a way to get everyone to lay off.

Joors passed in silence, which they did not really mind, and they were only disturbed when the latest scouting party returned with information. Soundwave's shift came to an end shortly after the Earth midnight passed and they both headed for the rec room to refuel.

Rolling her optics as Soundwave insisted on getting her energon and would not let her anywhere near the dispenser she walked right over to Blitzwing and flopped on his lap. The look of shock and outrage on the triple-changers' faces was reassuring enough that yes, she could still get a rise out of them. Stretching her arms out, she tilted her head at Blitzwing and snorted.

"Honestly, he acts like I'm fragile," she whined. "It's like I can't hold my own against you or something."

"Do you have ANY idea how much I could frag you up right now?" Blitzwing growled.

"Of course I do," Skywarp snorted as she tipped her helm back and offlined her optics. "But I know you well enough to know that you won't get any pleasure out of beating me up. It's no fun if they throw themselves at you."

Blitzwing was silent long enough for her to know that he agreed with her. His arms wrapped slowly around her waist and drew her against his chest. Smirking, she returned the hug and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Missed you too, idiot," Blitzwing grumbled bitterly as Astrotrain and Octane chuckled.

Petting his arm, Skywarp was not at all surprised when she heard Soundwave growl overhead. She pulled away from Blitzwing and tilted her head, her expression exemplifying "see?" better than words could. He growled again and Blitzwing slowly let her go, looking away so that he did not incite Soundwave's fury. Hopping off of his lap and accepting the energon cube, Skywarp strut her way back to his quarters.

She was tempted to taunt him a little, but she could sense his ire bubbling just below the surface of his mind and decided not to annoy him. Walking into his quarters, Skywarp flopped onto Thundercracker's back, nuzzling his neck as he let out a soft grunt. His hand stroked her leg absentmindedly as he slowly roused himself from recharge to accept the cube of energon Soundwave handed him.

"What did you do?" Thundercracker asked as Skywarp snuggled against him as he sat up.

"Oh, just flopped on Blitzwing," Skywarp shrugged a shoulder as she sipped her energon. "He missed me."

"And that's why Soundwave's pacing?" Thundercracker asked as he motioned towards their pacing trineleader.

"Guess so," Skywarp nodded as she kissed Thundercracker's jaw. "I'm just getting tired of being treated like something that's going to shatter if I move."

"There are those that are ready to kill you," Soundwave hissed. "Do you not understand that?"

"Of course I do," Skywarp soothed as Ravage entered the room. "I'm not stupid, Soundwave. I know who I can interact with and not wind up with a hole in my head."

Ravage waited patiently for Soundwave to stop pacing, his red optics moving between Skywarp and his master in mild amusement. Ravage might have been a creature of habit that strived on everything remaining as constant in his routine as possible, but that did not mean that he did not enjoy a small shake up so long as it was harmless. And watching Soundwave pace and fret over someone who didn't need to be fretted over was rather amusing. Usually it was his Cassettes he was being over-protective of; it must have been a nice change.

"Ravage, return," Soundwave ordered as he opened his chest compartment. Ravage obeyed without a moment's hesitation, folding into his cassette alt mode and sliding into his specific slot within the compartment. As soon as he was tucked away safely, Soundwave turned to Skywarp. "I would not be able to live with myself if you got hurt because I was not able to protect you."

"Soundwave," Skywarp soothed as she set her cube down and walked over to him, "I know that you just want me to be safe." She reached up and stroked his cheek, smiling as his facemask slid back so that he could kiss her palm. "But I've been around since the beginning of the war and I haven't been killed by a pissed off Decepticon yet. I don't see that changing any time soon."

"Skywarp," Soundwave started to growl.

"Ah, not a word," Skywarp pressed a finger over his dermas. "Come sit down and finish off your energon cube. Then you're going to recharge. Primus knows we all need it."

Soundwave did not fight her as she guided him over to the berth. He sat down beside Thundercracker, nuzzling his neck gently in greeting as Thundercracker snuggled into him and immediately drifted off. Skywarp powered down everything in the room for the night, leaving the basic communication relays on in case Megatron needed to get a hold of Soundwave.

When he finished with his cube, Soundwave lay down on the berth and pulled Thundercracker close. Skywarp crawled to his other side and snuggled against his back, tucking her face into his neck and hugging him around his waist.

"Night," she murmured as she heard his systems power down. "Recharge well."

Megatron called a meeting the next morning and Skywarp was a little surprise when she was told to sit down in the seat she used to hold. Folding her wings down to look as pious and sweet and honoured as she could, she glanced around at the assembly curiously. Starscream was seated ahead of her, his wings held just a few inches lower than usual. Thundercracker sat on her left as still and silent as a statue, but he would occasionally shoot her a look and shake his head. Onslaught was on the far right behind Soundwave, one leg crossed over the other so that his foot bounced in boredom. Motormaster was glaring at her from behind Hook's back while Scrapper spoke quietly with Astrotrain about something or other. Soundwave was sitting stiffly beside Starscream, refusing to acknowledge him as he always used to. It would have been a normal sight if her hologram was up and Starscream didn't look like a creature that was made to slink around in the shadows.

Megatron was pacing in front of his soldiers, his head turned towards the floor. He stopped abruptly in the center of the elevated platform and turned to face the assembled soldiers.

"As you are aware, the spies Starscream and Skywarp have recently rejoined our ranks," he stated a tad bit too coldly for Skywarp to not shift slightly towards Thundercracker. "I know how many of you would like nothing better than to make them pay. Know that any attempts to do so will be met with harsh punishment. They are here because I allowed it and that is all the reason you should require."

There was a murmur of dislike through the crowd, their optics turning to Skyfire as he stood silently in the back. His blue optics blinked but he did not flinch under the glares. Starscream's wings momentarily flared in warning, but they folded back down immediately as Onslaught twisted in his seat to look at him curiously. Megatron turned towards Soundwave and took a few steps in his direction. Then he turned and walked towards Starscream.

This was such a practiced motion that Skywarp didn't even flinch when he spun around and slammed his hands down on the railing circling their platform. Breakdown flinched and ducked his head down meekly, but aside from that it drew no notice.

"Is there something else you would like me to prove?" Megatron demanded. "Is my judgement not good enough for you all of a sudden? Or is it because you're afraid of who these two Seekers really are? Do you not like the idea of having a competent Air Commander? Or worse, a Seeker that can actually think through their decisions and not leave an opening for you to taunt them?" Snarling, Megatron turned to Soundwave. "Pick one."

Skywarp's wings flared before she could stop herself and she looked at Starscream desperately. He did not look impressed and his own wings started to rise in warning. Skywarp caught sight of Skyfire pulling himself up to his full height and prayed that Megatron would call the interrogation off. Soundwave rose and gestured for Starscream to walk over to him.

Skywarp's wings fluttered furiously and she was greatly tempted to throw herself in front of Starscream and snarl at her trineleader. Thundercracker's hand settled on her wrist and held her still as her brother rose to stand opposite Soundwave. Wings held high in defiance, Starscream bared his fangs at the silent mountain of a mech.

Starscream flinched and Skywarp tried to bolt to her brother's side. Thundercracker's grip on her wrist did not slacken, but he could not stop her from dragging them both to their feet. Megatron gave them both a warning look, but did not say anything as Skywarp's wings continued fluttering in fear. Looking at Starscream as pain started trickling in through their sibling bond, she felt a yawning hole of numb opening in her middle. A blade, a thin one with a curved tip like a hawk's beak, was fitted into his fist as naturally as if it had grown there. Skywarp didn't have to be a mind-reader to know where it was going to go and considering how Soundwave was not pinning her down, he was too deep searching for whatever it was that Megatron wanted to use as proof to notice.

Wings fluttering in panic, Skywarp teleported, dragging Thundercracker along behind her. She reappeared before Starscream and Soundwave, grabbing her brother's wrist mere seconds before the blade was embedded in Soundwave's chest. Starscream's wings flared in alarm and Soundwave took a step back as Thundercracker bounced against his side in alarm. Everyone was staring at them in alarm and Megatron was as still as a statue. Then, slowly, he turned to the assembly.

"Do you doubt her dedication to our cause now?" he growled low. "Dismissed."

The soldiers rose silently and left, their optics straying to Skywarp as Starscream slowly lowered his arm. When they were gone, Starscream bopped her over the head.

"Ow!" Skywarp yipped. "What did you do that for?"

"You took your sweet time," Starscream snorted. "What sort of loyal trinemate are you if you leave him standing there about to get stabbed?"

"I was being held back!" Skywarp huffed as she rubbed her head miserably. "And Megatron looked ready to slit my throat."

"Of course he did; that's his default look," Starscream rolled his optics and poked her nose. "And seriously, drag Thundercracker's aft behind you if you have to. What if I had managed to get it between his chest plates?"

"Um, I'd rather not think about it?" Skywarp pouted as she stepped back to let Soundwave stroke her back soothingly. "Because I didn't want to think that you would kill my trinemate."

"I wouldn't have, under normal circumstances," Starscream snorted as Megatron shooed the rest of his commanding staff off. "However, that aft was digging through every single injury Megatron ever gave me."

Skywarp shot Soundwave a glare just before he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. Struggling, she started clawing at his shoulder, demanding to be put down. Starscream covered his mouth as he chuckled, waving for Thundercracker to follow them wherever Soundwave was planning on going. He gave Megatron an amused look as the Warlord stood behind her and Skywarp pouted.

"This is degrading," she grumbled.

As if to make her feel worse about her situation, Soundwave squeezed her aft. She squeaked indignantly just as they walked by the coneheads and she buried her face in his back at their smirks.

"I hate you."

Soundwave patted her aft reassuringly as Thundercracker sighed.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Do I have to get the usual spiel about the dangers of the operation?" Skywarp asked as Mixmaster checked over her armor for medical uplinks.

Wings fluttering as he hit a sensitive spot, she squirmed miserably. It was bad enough that Soundwave was growling like an angry bulldog in the corner of the medical bay because Hook wasn't about to let him attack his team, but now she had two medics; Mixmaster and Scavenger; unintentionally feeling her up in search of medical ports.

"Shouldn't you have all the ports on record?" she grumbled as Scavenger's fingers shuffled nervously over her thigh.

"Your armor's overgrown some of them," Hook replied as he checked over the datapads carefully set out in front of him. "Unless you know of a way to find them without forcing you to flare every piece of your armor and promptly embarrass you?"

"Nope," Skywarp sighed before yipping. "Hey, hey! Watch the wings!"

"The armor's dented," Mixmaster grumbled. "Soundwave's being rough again?"

"My interface life is none of your business," she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking all the part like a petulant sparkling.

Mixmaster chuckled as he found the last medical port on her back and gently hooked a cable to it. She shivered at the spreading cold from the hook-up, muttering unhappily as she heard her systems beeping across one of the screens behind her. Her wings fluttered again as Scavenger found the port on her ankle. She gave him a pointed look, making sure that he understood how little she appreciated being felt up.

"That the last one, Scavenger?" Hook asked. "Good. Skywarp, you can lie down now. Regardless of how little you care for the medical things, I'm obligated to tell you. There is some danger in the operation and there is a chance that you won't survive it. Crippling is rare, but it has occurred in some Seekers."

"I know," Skywarp huffed. "As is permanent grounding because of who my carrier is, chronic fear of heights, claustrophobia to the umpteenth degree, agoraphobia, fear of touch, fear of not being touched, extreme sensitivity to heat and cold; can we get this done please?"

"Mouthy," Hook commented as he shook his head and hooked up the first package of data. "At least it's safe to know that some things don't change. Soundwave, you can come closer only if you swear you will not interfere no matter what happens. Where is Thundercracker?"

"Patrol," Soundwave replied as he walked over and dutifully took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Return should coincide with third data-transfer."

"I'll make sure no one's standing on her other side then," Hook snorted as he began the first transfer. "Just relax, Skywarp; this isn't going to be comfortable at your age."

Doing her best to follow instructions, Skywarp rested her head back on the berth. The first bit of data was easily processed, stored into the appropriate files within her processor. Then the first wave of altering data filtered in and her processor flipped out. She cringed in agony as her wings flared straight out to either side of her and the coding rolled like fire through her circuits. She bit down on her derma as she arched in agony, feeling the metal expanding and shifting to meet the demands.

"Easy," Hook soothed as she rested against the berth again. "Easy."

"Ow," she whimpered.

"I warned you," Hook shook his head as the next bit of data filtered through.

Joors passed. It felt like an eternity. Hook went impossibly slow with the upgrades, waiting as her chassis forcibly twisted itself around to fit the new data commands. The agony was unbelievable and she was not ashamed that she eventually stopped trying to hold in her screams. Soundwave was beside himself with fear and fury, but she tightening grip on his hand kept him still. She needed him to stay right where he was so that she did not panic and look around for him.

Thundercracker showed up half-way through the third dataset, gripping her free hand just as a new set of wings started growing from her back. Her optics offlined, leaving her to pant in darkness as her chassis tried furiously to recover from the pain. She heard the screens going crazy behind her and Hook shouting for Long Haul to do something. Soundwave's grip on her hand tightened and his panic lashed against her mind.

She felt her spark stutter inside of her, threatening to collapse in on itself. She wanted to thrash and fight, but every last fuel reserve had been used up. The commotion in the medbay began to dim, letting her float on a strange wave away from it. It was strangely peaceful, filling her with a calm that had not existed since before the war. She let out a soft sigh of delight as she willingly began to sink into the calm.

"Giving up already?" a familiar voice teased. "That's not like you, little Sky-reacher."

"Coder?" Skywarp tried to ask, but her mouth felt dislocated from her face. She reached blindly above her, searching for the source of the voice.

A hand that was much larger than hers found her in the darkness. Even without her sight she could see the familiar smile. Tears built in her optics as the mech pulled her out of the calm and held her close.

"Coder," she whimpered softly. "I miss you so much."

"I know, my little Sky-reacher," he soothed. "But I'm not ready to see you again, no matter how much I love you. Don't give up so easily. The pain is horrendous, I know, but the payoff will be worth it."

"I didn't know I'd look so different," Skywarp whispered. "Did you see me? It doesn't even look like me anymore. I don't…how can I adjust to something so drastic?"

"You're Ratchet sparkling; you'll be fine," he insisted. "Besides, you look good with those extra wings. Now get back to your chassis before your poor trinemates offline in fright."

Smiling weakly, she nuzzled his face, wishing there was some way to bring him back with her. His strength mingled with her own as she floated down to her chassis. The screens were going haywire, screaming their status out as her chassis battled with staying online. She drew hot air into her intakes and onlined her optics briefly.

Hook caught her optic as the screens calmed down. It was hard to tell if he was more likely to hug her in relief or slap her for giving everyone a spark attack. Her coder's laugh filled her audios and she felt tears trickle down her face.

"Sorry," she murmured weakly. "Please continue."

Hook shared a worried look with her trinemates, but started the transfer up again. The pain did not lessen, but she could hold her way through it. By the end of the orn, the transfer was complete and she was allowed to lie on the berth with a steady drip of energon in her arm while the Constructicons unhooked her. Soundwave stroked her helm repeatedly, his mind pressing down on her and trying to worm his way further to feel better about her current state. Thundercracker was crouched on her other side, her hand pressed against his mouth as he kissed her knuckles reassuringly.

"I feel like slag," Skywarp groaned. She yipped at the sound of her own voice, blinking rapidly in alarm. "Holy slag! I sound like liquid interface!"

Thundercracker laughed softly as he got the go ahead from Hook and helped her sit up. "That is going to take some getting used to, Warp," he agreed. "Soundwave, did you fritz out on me?"

Turning her head slowly, Skywarp lifted an optic ridge at him. He was stiff and unresponsive, not that it was an unusual thing for Soundwave to do, he was just oddly unmoving. Slowly, he crouched down and cupped Skywarp's cheek in his hand. Skywarp was alarmed by how small his hand felt on her face and swallowed a little. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed gently.

"Primus," he breathed. "I was so worried about you."

"I know, I'm sorry," Skywarp soothed. "Anyway I can make it up to you?"

Soundwave gave her a pointed look through his visor before he pulled her arm across his shoulders and helped her to her feet. "We are lying in our room all day and I am lying on top of you and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."

Skywarp smiled and nuzzled him gently as she let her trinemates lead her out of the medbay. Hanging from their shoulders, she was stunned by how much bigger she was than them. It was alarming and she felt a little silly for it. Nuzzling Thundercracker curiously, she tipped her head to the side.

"So, how does it feel to be smaller than me?" she teased.

"Strange; I was always the tall one," Thundercracker chuckled. "Now we'll look funny with a short trineleader."

Soundwave turned to glare at him, but the knowing smirk on his face was enough to dampen any anger in Soundwave's spark. He steered them towards the berth as the door to their quarters opened, refusing to let Skywarp lie down on her own. Huffing as her wings trembled in pain, Skywarp squirmed and held her trinemates close as they cuddled.

"No," Starscream glared up at Skywarp's new form. "No, that's not fair and I refuse to accept it. There is no way that he can be that tall!"

Skywarp preened a little as he; oh how happy he was that he could finally refer to himself as "he"; towered over his older sibling. Starscream's wings fluttered furiously as he glared up at Skywarp, ignoring Megatron's smirk as he sat contently on his throne with Skyfire leaning over the side.

"Not an illusion, dear brother," Skywarp cooed as he flicked his lower wings. "Not entirely sure where the coding came from, but I am not complaining! Besides, I'm nowhere near Skyfire's height."

"He has a point," Skyfire chuckled as he moved to comfort the bristly Starscream. "Calm down; he was bound to be big."

"But it's not fair! And he has four wings; why the slag does he need four wings?" Starscream whined, crossing his arms angrily over his chest.

Skywarp fluttered his upper wings happily as Thundercracker shook his head. Soundwave glanced over briefly from his monitor and Skywarp flared a lower wing to show off. He felt a brief flare of emotion from his mind and it was a fight to keep from grinning as widely as he wanted to.

"You will likely need a new alt mode," Megatron commented dryly. "Will you need someone to accompany you?"

"I'll take Thundercracker with me," Skywarp shrugged. "We'll be alright. The Autobots shouldn't be able to follow us and are not likely to attack with an unknown Seeker trotting around."

"Very well," Megatron nodded.

Nodding, Skywarp turned to Starscream and hugged him tightly. Tucker his head against his sibling's audio, he smiled.

"Coder came to me when I was fading," he murmured softly. "He gave me the strength to continue."

"Good to know he's still watching over us," Starscream sighed softly, nuzzling his head affectionately. "Now get going, you great big idiot."

Rolling his optics in amusement, Skywarp headed for the launch deck. Thundercracker took off with him, flying beside him even though his frame ached from the too-small alt mode. Flying over an airfield, Skywarp took careful stock of the available alt modes. Scanning one of the larger jets, he teleported to the other side of the airfield as the humans started firing on them.

"Want to give them a run?" Skywarp called to Thundercracker.

"Try not to kill anyone; just blow up their jets," Thundercracker called back.

Whooping in delight, Skywarp flipped over and flew close to the ground. His weapons fired, ripping their flimsy jets apart with a single passing. The humans fled, firing at his underside with their weak weapon. Frowning, Skywarp teleported to Thundercracker's side and transformed.

"They aren't equipped with weapons to hurt us," he commented. "I think something's up."

"Bots?" Thundercracker asked as he unfolded from his jet form and looked around.

"Not sure," Skywarp admitted as he started scanning.

A loud whoop echoed before something dropped onto his shoulders. Snarling, Skywarp started shaking and dropped, flipping over to aim at the ground. Sunstreaker's chassis dangled below him and flailed his arms as he tried to bend himself enough to take a swipe at his face. Growling, Skywarp stopped his descent and crossed his arms moodily across his chest.

"Really?" he demanded. "Really? I come here for an alt mode and the best mode of attack you can think of is dropping on my shoulders? Your attacks suck, Golden Boy."

"What did you just call me?" Sunstreaker growled furiously.

Rolling his optics, Skywarp teleported to the ground and smirked at the pleasant crunch as Sunstreaker took all of his new weight. Rolling away, he sat up and flicked his new wings in amusement as he watched Sunstreaker roll over and groan in pain. The dirt ground into his bright yellow paint was going to be a pain to get out later and Skywarp wished that he had a camera to watch.

"What in the world?" Sunstreaker groaned as he looked up at him. "Skywarp?"

"Really, is it that hard to believe?" Skywarp teased as he got to his feet and flicked his wings. "But really, you suck at your attack. Rethink it."

Sunstreaker gawked at him as he looked up to see how Thundercracker was faring. Sideswipe was dangling from his foot and clinging for all his worth as Thundercracker darted back and forth. Rolling his optics in amusement, Skywarp took to the sky and made a beeline for his trinemate. The annoyance on his face was adorable and Skywarp was tempted to kiss him before ridding him of the little red tag-along. Smirking at Sideswipe, he picked him up by the scruff and gave him a gentle shake.

"Don't you know that fighting Seekers is dangerous for your health?" he taunted before dropping Sideswipe. "Oh, say hello to the ground for me!"

"You claim to be smart but you act the exact same as ever," Thundercracker teased as he moved closer and nuzzled him gently. "Let's get back to base before reinforcement shows up."

Taking Thundercracker's hand, he teleported them back to base. Slumping contently on his shoulder, Skywarp grinned dumbly.

"Oh look, I just used up all of my energy reserves," he cooed. "Could you be a doll and carry me back to our room?"

Thundercracker chuckled as he wrapped a hand around his waist and started walking. Purring happily, Skywarp pushed his face into Thundercracker's neck and nuzzled the cables as they walked.

"Love you," he whispered gently. "Just thought I'd let you know."

Thundercracker chuckled softly and turned to kiss him. "Love you too, Skywarp," he cooed.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Skywarp woke with a soft yawn, tucking his face into Soundwave's shoulder. Thundercracker had himself curled up into an adorable ball in Soundwave's arms, actually managing to make himself look smaller than their trineleader. It was amusing and if he had felt like moving, he might have taken a holopic to show them later. But he was comfortable and he didn't want to move. It wasn't like they were needed or anything.

The Decepticons had been strangely inactive as of late. It was a little unnerving, especially since every other Decepticon looked just as cooped up as he felt. The inactivity had given him more than enough time to spend with his trine and Skywarp would have been lying if he said he wasn't ready to finalize the bond. The only problem was Soundwave's need to dance around the issue and cough about him not being the trineleader or some similar slag. It was actually starting to annoy both him and Thundercracker because they both knew the silent mech was the trineleader.

Grumbling a little, Skywarp started massaging Soundwave's hips, smiling as his mate let out a soft noise. He shifted in Skywarp's hands, pushing into them eagerly. His visor brightened for a moment, the dark optics beneath rolling to look at him. Skywarp turned his smile towards him, lifting an optic brow curiously.

"Not the trineleader," Soundwave murmured groggily.

"Liar," Skywarp teased as he gently rolled his thumb over a shallow cluster of nodes hidden behind the armor on Soundwave's hip.

The throaty growl he received as encouragement had him finding the other node clusters to tease more wonderful sounds out of his trineleader. Thundercracker onlined an optic and gave him a questioning look. It took him a moment for his tired processor to catch up and he ran a finger down Soundwave's chest. They both stopped at the same time as Soundwave let out a strangled sound.

"That's not fair," he huffed. "Two on one?"

"Wouldn't be fun if we weren't joining in," Skywarp teased gently as Soundwave rolled onto his back.

Thundercracker and Skywarp shared a look and nodded. With a bit of maneuvering, Skywarp wiggled underneath Soundwave as Thundercracker straddled his hips. Their trineleader tensed, unsure of their position, but their gentle nuzzles reassured him.

"You won't rest until I accept the position, will you?" Soundwave sighed as he reached up to tease the wires under Thundercracker's jaw.

Skywarp shook his head. There was no point in mentioning that once they were bonded he would understand. It was hard to explain; the same way that they couldn't explain how Starscream had become their trineleader even though he had easily been weaker and less intimidating than Thundercracker. They simply fell into line behind him and no one argued why.

Soundwave let out a low groan as Thundercracker's fingers sank into the armor around his chest, teasing wires and nodes. Skywarp nuzzled his neck, purring softly as he watched curiously. He really didn't have any idea what he was doing and was happy that they had an understanding. It sounded silly to him, even now, that he was the "virginal" one of the trine given his size.

Thundercracker's optics moved to Skywarp and he let out a low moan as Soundwave's hands settled aggressively on his hips. He wiggled slightly, optics flashing as he let his panel slide back. Somewhere between Thundercracker's panel sliding back and Soundwave's chest plates eagerly popping open, Skywarp lost track of time. He was caught in a bought of pleasure, panting as he treated Soundwave to whatever skills he had with his newly acquired spike. He wasn't even sure when Soundwave rolled over so that their chests were pressing together, Thundercracker's chassis sandwiched comfortably between their frames.

He did remember their sparks merging though. He remembered Soundwave's spark eagerly sucking his and Thundercracker's in close, holding them hostage as their bond twined ferociously around them. The amount of pleasure rocking between their three frames was enough to send a lesser mech over the edge three times. But they held on tightly even as yawning overload beckoned. Skywarp could taste his mates as their mouths furiously found each other, their hot breath leaving streaks of condensation on each other's optics.

There was a momentary popping noise in his head, a sensation that they were weightless and that everything was right, before overload hit them hard. Fire ran hot through his spark and loins and he screamed his pleasure to the ceiling, Thundercracker and Soundwave's names mingled on his glossa. Then he offlined.

"Well," Starscream's voice called distantly. "I'm glad to see that you three enjoyed yourselves. Quite the puzzle of limbs you've gotten yourself into."

Skywarp onlined his optics with a soft groan. Of all the times for his sibling to show up, it had to be when he was recharging with his trinemates on top of him. Soundwave let out a soft murmur against his chest, rolling over to hide his face against Skywarp's neck. Thundercracker wiggled his way free and stood protectively in front of the berth, his large wings sort of shielding them from view.

Starscream raised an optic ridge at him before looking directly at Skywarp. "Megatron's calling a meeting in about a joor. I figured you'd rather be woken up by me than the big brute."

"Well, we're up now; please leave," Skywarp yawned as he stroked Soundwave's back.

Starscream rolled his optics in good nature and turned around to leave. He paused at the door, fluttering his wings curiously. Glancing over his shoulder, he smirked.

"Aw, Soundwave's the trineleader?" he teased gently. "That's so cute."

Skywarp threw whatever happened to be close by and grinned as Starscream ducked out the door to avoid it. Snorting softly, he stretched his arms and legs out, getting the kinks out of his joints. Soundwave rolled over and sat up, rubbing at his face as Skywarp dragged himself into a sitting position. He vented a loud sigh before he got to his feet and stretched.

"We should get going," Soundwave intoned as blandly as possible.

"I'd love to just lie here and cuddle," Skywarp pouted before he got up and scratched at his neck.

"We can later, Sky," Thundercracker shook his head in amusement.

Replacing his visor, Soundwave led the way out of the room and down the hallway. The war room was packed with chassis and it was only through Skywarp's sheer bulk that they were able to move up to the front of the crowd where Megatron was pacing. Skyfire stood off to the side, his head turned towards the ground, but he was watching the crowd. His wings bounced occasionally and Skywarp smirked to himself; for a peace-loving mech, he sure was ready to tear someone apart if they got too close to his trinemate.

Starscream flicked a wing to get their attention and they all moved over to stand beside him. Skywarp gave his brother a curious look before they stood at attention. Megatron had stopped pacing.

The warlord looked out over the gathered mechs and snorted. "This war will end with our next battle," he growled softly. "You have all been aware that we have been supposedly inactive for the last few Earth weeks. While the rest of you have been relaxing, I have been constructing battleplans to cripple the Autobots permanently." He snorted again and glanced at Starscream pointedly. "My sources have provided me with more than enough information to ensure our victory of both the battle and the war."

As the battleplans were revealed, Skywarp's wings slowly started to rise in alarm. The amount of detail that were included was almost unprecedented. Megatron never put this much care into his plans; he had down to the minute movements of every single group of fighting mech. He stole a glance at Starscream, wishing that they were alone so that he could demand answers out of his brother. Instead, he remained silent as he absorbed all of the information.

It was clear that they had thought of just about everything. Skywarp knew that confidence could be a hindrance, but he almost felt certain that they were going to win. There was no way that the Autobots could catch them off guard. Megatron finished talking and dismissed them to rest up for the next orn.

Skywarp followed Soundwave over to Megatron, his wings twitching happily as Rumble crawled up onto his back to get a better look at the scene. Soundwave inclined his head and began to whisper with the warlord. Starscream was talking with Skyfire, shaking his head and frowning unhappily. Skywarp shared a curious look with Thundercracker and headed over to his sibling to see what was wrong.

"What's up?" he asked curiously.

"It's going to be hard to get certain individuals out of the fire-fight," Starscream replied. "Megatron wants some mechs left alive after the battle. The commanding officers, mostly. He wants to make them see what we are going to do to Cybertron."

"So, Optimus, Prowl, Jazz, and Ratchet?" Skywarp asked with a raised optic ridge.

"Ironhide too," Starscream nodded. "The only problem with that is that they are going to be the first ones to jump into the fight. We have to be able to get in and get them captured fast."

"And you didn't come ask me sooner?" Skywarp smirked before bowing at the waist. "I, Skywarp the Magnificent, offer my services to collect the mechs you so desire."

"You're going to teleport in, grab someone, and teleport out, aren't you?" Starscream sighed.

"Naturally," Skywarp chirped happily.

"They would see that coming," Skyfire pointed out gently. "I don't think it's safe, Skywarp."

"So you have any other suggestions?" Skywarp smirked. "No? Then it's the best one we have. Just point me in the right direction and I will complete everything for you."

Starscream looked skeptical, but he nodded. "Alright; I'll let Megatron know that you offered. We'll get you your orders as quickly as I can," he murmured.

Skywarp hugged Starscream tightly, grinning as he growled in displeasure. "I'll be fine," he cooed as he glanced over at Soundwave. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a telepath to jump."

"I do NOT want to know," Starscream snarled as he slapped his hands over his audios.

Skywarp cackled like a madmech before he teleported behind Soundwave and grabbed him. Cackling more, he glanced at Thundercracker long enough to promise to be right back. With a loud whoop, he teleported to their quarters and dropped Soundwave on the berth. Ignoring the surprised hiss his trinemate made, he teleported back to the warroom, grabbed Thundercracker, and teleported back. Grinning, he flopped on Soundwave and purred as he pushed his face into the mech's neck.

"There are many things I'm going to do to you," he promised sweetly.

"Dude, I'm still here!" Rumble cried out in disgust.


End file.
